Whatever Point You Will
by Bardic Jester
Summary: A man in exile. Few have ever accomplished as much as he, but few have suffered as much as well. A man who, with only his brain, fought men who could throw boulders and won. A man who loved a girl and won. Continuation and Slight Retelling of the Show.
1. Aang and the White Lotus Revolution

Author's Notes- I just thought I would preface this story a little. The story is a retelling and continuation of the Avatar story. A general rule of thumb while reading would be to assume that if I contradict something from the show, I did it on purpose. Everything in the show may have happened, but nothing is set in stone.

The story is quite dark, there are tragic elements are throughout. You have been warned.

I have marked the story's main characters as Sokka and Toph. While Sokka is without a doubt the protaganist of the story, Toph plays a smaller role but I would say is still the second character. Toph's role becomes larger later in the story. This is not a romance story between them, they are not a straight pairing, but they do have a relationship of sorts. Please do not act like a whinny kid and flame the comments about how the story isn't a true Sokka and Toph story.

Anyways, enjoy!

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"_Tell us the story, goddess daughter of Zeus, beginning at whatever point you will."_

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The hot tea slowly cooled on the table to Sokka's right. He sat alone. His cabin was a solitary place. He seldom had visitors, which was partly by his own design. The cabin rested by itself on a small flat island to the north east of the Southern Water Tribe. Great winds blew across it chilling any man to the bone. It took hours to canoe, a place of solitude, which was precisely what Sokka had been looking for when he decided to build his home one it.

He had originally brought a tent covered in furs to sleep in, but the wind proved too strong. The furs would blow no matter how much tension they were lain. Some nights during the dark months, the wind was able to muster enough force to push the entire tent to the ground. Sokka was a strong individual, willing to fight the elements, he'd been fighting benders for years, nature surely was not going to be strong enough to make him fold. It took him a couple months before he swallowed his pride and decided he needed something sturdier or another place to stay.

The wooden cabin he erected had a sunken floor for warmth. The cracks between the wood had mud rubbed over on both sides. Outside, snow was pushed to roof on an angle to reduce the air force directly hitting the wood and to help insulate from the cold. The mud strengthened the wood from water damage the snow would have done, but not enough that Sokka every couple of months had to rip out certain boards that had rotten too much. It was still less work then having to stretch and dry fir to put around his tent.

The shack had a small area, it was only more than Sokka's arms extended in length. This little room made the shack hard to live in, especially during the dark months. There was a fire place in the middle, with a hole in the roof above it to ventilate the smoke out of the room. A small bed lay on one side, covered in thick firs from bears and dears, most of which had been gifts from the Tribe once he had returned from his journey. Across from the bed on the other side of the fire place lay a desk. The desk was covered in different papers, letters, scrolls, and ink wells. Numerous books lay in piles tall as the ceiling. He sword and about a dozen other weapons rested against the side of the wall.

A painting hung lonely on the exposed wall directly on top of the desk. Zuko and Katara stared at him with smiles plastered across their faces. They looked happy in each other's arms, Sokka hadn't held anyone in his arms in the three years since he had returned to the Tribe. He sometimes held his arms out into the air to specifically feel the absence of touch. It would have been possible to just hold himself across his chest but that would have made him feel even more alone. The last person he wanted to hold was himself.

Most of his ornamental weapons, clothes and apparel were in a locked chest in Hakoda's Chieftain's Cabin back at the Tribe. He had not wanted to surround himself with too many reminders of the past. The painting had been a present, and he never liked being totally alone. Katara smiled at him whenever he needed some company. His sword was the only real item of any value, he never let it out of sight so he had little fear of it being stolen. Plus he deeply cared for the edge on that blade more than any other great items he had been given. If he never saw the chest in Hakoda's Cabin again he wouldn't mind so much.

He had nothing of Aang's in the cabin. This wasn't surprising as Aang never have very many things to begin with. Aang had been buried with his robe, and Zuko had his staff placed in the throne room of the Fire Nation. When Zuko became the Lord of the Fire Nation he had declared Aang a Hero and had commissioned multiple different statues and paintings all across the land. Sokka never liked them very much, and he still only missed his friend, not the 'hero'. He didn't need to have a piece of memorabilia sitting on a pedestal, he had his memories, and that was enough.

Once the Tea had cooled down, Sokka slowly grabbed the cup and put it to his mouth. During Iroh's tenure as Lord of the Fire Nation, he had many private meetings with Sokka. A polymath of sorts Iroh taught Sokka about all things: the state, politics, botany, war, natural sciences, and how to make the best tea in the world. It could warm the ocean to that of a bath, or soothe the hardest of earth benders to liquid. Sokka's tea was never as good, but was still far better than any he had ever had excluding Iroh's tea.

He wondered what Iroh would think of him now. Iroh had hoped Sokka would be one of Zuko's head advisors, a role he had fulfilled for a year. But that was over now. The Northern Tribe had asked him to become their Chieftain once, but that was a long time ago, before Earth Kingdom and the War. Now he just sat alone in his small cabin. Drinking tea, fighting against invisible enemies, and writing, writing so that the world would become a better place.

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**_Whatever Point You Will_**

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The Avatar had come out of nowhere. Found purely by accident by two Southern Water Tribe members, he went on to change the entire world. Defeating the Fire Lord weeks before he was to set the world on fire. The Legend of the Four Journeys of his life, an epic written by the Avatar's companion and wife of Lord Zuko, Katara, depicted his life in four stages. Air, the beginning of his life growing up with the Air Nomads, before being frozen for a half century. Water, the story of how he was found, and how he journeyed from one side of the world to the other to learn Water Bending. Earth, the story of how he journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to learn to bend Earth and how he was present at the conquering of Ba Sing Se. Finally Fire, depicting his journey up the river Nung River, the failure of the Eclipse, the White Lotus Revolution and finally his tragic death.

Lord Zuko, who had commissioned his wife to make the pieces, made them officially part of the Fire Nation Canon. Fire, probably the most orally recited piece throughout the world became common knowledge. The other three books were less discussed, but still present throughout the world. The original hand written copy was placed in the Southern Air Temple, where Aang was buried.

Due to the spoken tradition of the pieces, there were many different discrepancies between geographical places to the details of the story. Katara was known to never leave the palace ever, but would leave every couple of months to say the story, often revealing things that had happened which no one had heard before. Thousands of people would come to hear her speak, begging her to share with them more of the tale.

It is interesting to note the popular view individuals had of Aang from the Fire Nation. In the Earth Kingdom he was viewed as someone who saved them from an attack from the Fire Nation, and little more. The Water Tribes had great respect for him, but viewed him as an equal soldier in their war against the Fire Nation. They would probably view him better if it wasn't due to the battles that continued after he had disposed of Ozai.

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How Sokka remembered that adventure was different than the tale. When Aang and the gang started up the Nung River, they intended to only get to the Capital to be ready for the Eclipse. Along the way they came to an especially poor fishing town who was starving from the pollution of the Fire Nation Factories. So outraged, Katara and Aang together destroyed the entire factory and in a feet never seen before, Aang purified the entire river. Soon their escapades started to catch the ears of many people. They came across a village of squatters who were refusing to leave their homes after they had been ordered to evict. Toph built great walls of dirt surrounding the homes and Aang individually created great mud homes for them to live a better life.

Eventually they ended up inadvertently doing one of their smartest moves, which was to befriend Sokka's eventual Master Piandao, who gave them a connection to the White Lotus. A connection that would prove very useful later on.

Once the day of the Eclipse came, the four of them, Toph, Katara, Aang and Sokka believed they were ready to face the kingdom. They stormed from the north hoping to flank the enemy while the Water Tribe Ships and the Mechanist's men stormed from the docks. Their element of surprise was diminished when it seemed as if the soldiers were expecting them. The four of them became separated in a dense residential area.

Aang and Sokka found themselves alone when they were attacked by Azula, Mai and Ty Lee. Flanked by enemies on all sides, with the sun now exposed, they were trapped. They started to fight but it was becoming clear that with Aang's lack of Fire Bending skills, they were outmatched. That is until one point Azula became distracted when Mai was stabbed in the leg by Sokka, Aang was throwing a rock as hard as he could at her, and since she wasn't paying attention to defend herself, it hit her in the face. She fell down to the ground, blood staining the earth. Mai screamed and leapt at Aang, but Sokka stabbed her through her torso when she turned her back on him. She stood there for a second staring at the sword, poking through her bosom, the front of her shirt turning red.

Ty Lee screamed and paralysed Sokka's arms and legs within a second. She leapt at Aang, pushing him away as they continued to fight. Soon it was just Sokka lying on the ground next to Mai's almost dead body. His paralysis made it so that he couldn't move, even as Mai blood started to build up in a pool under him.

Aang finally met up with Katara and they were both able to knock out Ty Lee. Hoping to come back for Sokka they were let down to find him, Mai and Azula surrounded by over a hundred soldiers and Lord Ozai, with full Fire Bending abilities. There was nothing for them to do. They left the city to fight another day, to the Western Air Temple. The battle was lost.

Sokka was put into the worst of jails and tortured for over a week. He would have been put to death right away had they not wanted to know where the avatar was. They burnt off all of the skin on his hands and his feet. Then they forced him to do hard labour, whipping him whenever he fell behind. His back became raw, he started to fear they would started cutting off his fingers. There was a time he started to wish for death, something he would later wish to never do again.

Strangely Zuko started to visit him, telling him to hold in there. He would admit things, that he felt terrible, that Aang was right, but why did they have to kill Mai? She was harmless! Ozai blamed him for Azula's death, Ozai had went mad and was going to set the Earth Kingdom on fire when the comet came. He would ramble about Ty Lee going crazy, she refused to sleep anywhere other than his bed. He was distressed, it was written all over his face. One day he came in there, said that he was sorry and started to cry. It was surreal, but tragic, Sokka would converse about how Zuko needed to help Aang. Sokka was a dead man, but Aang could do something. Death would be sweet with hope.

Right before they were going to start the real torture, believing he really didn't know anything and that they should probably have fun with him before they kill him, something strange happened. A guard came to his cell and unlocked the door. All he did was give Sokka a white lotus, a note and ran off. On the note there was instructions to go to the door of the prison where a carriage carrying both Zuko and Ty Lee was parked. He was to enter the carriage with his head down, not say a word and wait until they were outside of the city.

Once they left the city Ty Lee started to cling onto Sokka. There were to find Aang, and make sure he was prepared. Iroh was going to lead the white lotus to battle against the Ozai in four months, they had to be ready for it or Iroh was going to do it anyway. It took them two weeks to find them, they were lucky Sokka believed Aang and Katara would go to the Western Air Temple. For a hiding spot it was a pretty obvious choice. But, Katara and Aang did want to be found, by at least Sokka and Toph.

When they arrived there it was not well received. Sokka tried to convince Katara and Aang to trust Zuko and Ty Lee but they were not willing to. Aang, realising he needed the fire bending training decided to swallow his pride and be trained by Zuko. Katara was considerably less willing to.

It was only later that Sokka had found out about why. Katara and Zuko had had sex when they were imprisoned during the conquering of the Earth Kingdom. After Zuko had betrayed them and sided with the Fire Nation Katara was heart broken. Since the Eclipse Aang and Katara stepped up their relationship. They were so alone, it pushed them so much closer together. Aang was completed smitten by Katara; the last words he ever said to Sokka in private was "I hope she loves me back equally." Katara had withheld the secret of her relationship with Zuko to Aang, believing he needed to be focused on the Fire Nation, not on who she had laid with before.

The three and a half months they were together in the temple was the only time Sokka remembered being unhappy with Aang and Katara. Excluding the three months Aang was unconscious from Azula's lightning strike. There was such a sense of dread amongst all of them. Also a real sense of mortality. They had killed before, but Azula and Mai, it was directly on purpose, they had been fighting to the death and those two paid for it. Toph was still missing. Sokka was convinced she was dead, she hadn't been captured, and she had not joined them.

It was quiet there, the walls were high. Great pillars were covered in Moss. And they were alone, very alone.

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Ty Lee sat on the remains of a pillar. It was cold, as was all of the stone in the temple. The pillar lay against the ground, stretched out against the tiled floor. There was no telling how long ago it had fallen. Could it have been the attack of the Fire Nation? Or maybe it was from before that. It could have died long before the rest of the air benders, but even in its death it was still the only thing left of that time. It cried growth at its tips, whose green danced across the floor as far as they could reach. The painted grey retreated from its invader to the edges of the domain it controlled.

Sokka stood in front of Ty Lee with dedication flowing through his veins. He wore little, barely a cloth covered this torso, the rest had been used as bandages around the areas his skin had been burnt off. He was stiff from the burns, but tried to convince everyone he was just as able as when he was perfectly healthy. This was betrayed from his cries while he slept, and his whimpers when he was alone. No one tried to call him on it, if he needed to be healthy than they were going to treat as if he were.

The space between them was filled with the wind who traveled all along the temple. Wherever one went in the temple they could not escape it. It crept up one's back and gave them shivers. It whispered and whistled while they slept as if to remind them that they are in a haunted place. Haunted by the wind who was no longer held, no longer told how wonderful it was. It was just as alone as they all felt inside themselves, but tried to escape by clinging on to who ever was closest. For the wind, it was all of them, and it was sad.

"Will you teach me?" Sokka asked, his voice cracking during the second word. He hadn't been talking much during the last couple of days. "Maybe just the basics, but it could be useful for us once we fight."

Ty Lee smiled a little, her back arched backwards. "But wouldn't you just replace my usefulness?" She jumped off the pillar onto the ground. Her foot crushing a little piece of moss who had been growing from cracks. It yelled in a crunch as the little conscious life escaped from it. She walked up right in from on Sokka, her heels raised from the ground to give her an equal line of sight. "Plus, how do I know you won't use it against me so you can finally take out Zuko. I'd be a pretty lousy body guard if I taught you exactly how to fight like me. You'd know exactly how to take me down!"

Sokka lightly put both of this bandaged hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her down so that her full soles lied across the floor. "You know we are both on the same side. Ask Zuko, he'd probably say it's a good idea as well. We need to focus our strength on the upcoming battle, not on distrusting each other." He tried to hide the pain he felt touching Ty Lee, but knew he was wincing. The skin had not totally regrown, and was no less sensitive. It was the first time he had touched her, it was soft, worth the pain.

"What if we have legitimate reasons to mistrust each other?" Ty Lee frowned and slowly bowed her head. Her eyes became distant, her pupils grew with memory.

Brushing her arms slightly Sokka retracted his hands from Ty Lee's body. He bowed his head, remembering what she was assuredly recalling. He still dreamed about lying Mai's blood, unable to move. The sound of her throat as she chocked on her blood next to him was no less loud, and no less subtle. He would hear it from distant areas wherever he was. Aang's throw was reckless but effective, his stab had been intentional, savage. He killed her, trying to kill her, without second guessing or thinking of other options.

Inaudible sounds crept out of Sokka's mouth as he tried to console her. He regained his composure and was able to organise his thoughts. "Look I'm sorry, so very sorry. I regret it, it was a mistake."

"It may have been, but maybe it was the right thing to do. We needed to be stopped." Her face's colour started to drain, leaving a porcelain hollow shell, without any emotion to express.

Sokka moved his hands to her sides. "You didn't need to be stopped, you needed to be redirected, even they did, not what they got. No one deserves that." Sokka made promise to himself, one he made every time he and Ty Lee had discussed this. He would never kill again. Whenever she had or would ask to be held, this was all that was present in his mind. He would break this promise, many times.

"We did though, we did bad, bad things." Ty Lee's eyes lite up from the reflection of the diamonds growing in her eyes. Sokka's face changed, she had never come back with this response before. Ty Lee wrapped her arms around Sokka's waist. "We killed people, for information, for little reason. Azula got so into those things, she was scary, the scariest person I ever knew."

"Who did you kill?" Sokka asked, moving his face down so that he was looking into her eyes.

She moved her face away trying to escape his gaze. "I don't fucking know! People, I tried not to remember." She breathed deeply. "We needed information into Ba Sing Se, we needed connections to bad people to pull off the shit we did."

Rubbing his bandaged hand against her cheek Sokka's mind was focused. He asked in a tender tone "What about those girls, you stole their uniforms, you were wearing them when we fought you, at the end."

"Those girl's in the green uniform thing?" She closed her eyes trying to accurately picture the victims. "Only some of them, one died when we first ambushed them. A couple others were defiant and so we made an example of a few."

"What about their leader?"

"I don't know," she immediately replied. Sokka's hearted skipped a beat. "Wait, I remember. After we had immobilised the group, we started to tie them up and dump them face down in a ditch. She was able to over power Mai and jumped at Azula, so I touched her heart."

"Touched her heart?"

She smiled a little. "There are numerous pressure points on the body, touched the right way you can paralyse parts of the body. There is one right over your heart." She moved her hand and pointed towards Sokka's heart. Sokka stopped breathing as her watched her move. "If you tap it three times the right way, it stops." She lightly taped Sokka's heart three times. His eyes started to water.

"How Fitting."

-

Two days later Ty Lee started to teach Sokka the fighting technique. Three days after that they had sex. Sokka didn't feel anything. Afterwards he climbed to the top of the temple. Completely nude he laid down on the cold stone roof. He stared up at the full moon, his breathing slowed. He wondered how many more people he loved was he going to lose.

Sokka's hands healed slowly, but were functional when it came time for Iroh's plan. They gathered up their things, gave farewells to the walls. The wind waved them goodbye, silently whistling its tears. Appa was armoured up and saddled with all the items they thought would be necessary for the upcoming battle. When they were prepared both mentally and physically, they leapt into the air. The future in their sights.

They met up with Piandao at his estate. He had assembled a small militia of former students and soldiers loyal to him. The influence he controlled in the area was enough for no one to become suspicious of the assembly. A total of one hundred, they cheered when Appa appeared in the sky. Aang was an asset, no only in his bending abilities, but his ability to create hope in the hearts of those who followed him.

Piandao's job was to secure the areas surrounding the east of the capital. It was to make sure little communication could leave the city, limiting the chance of reinforcements. If some how reinforcements were able to hear about the coup, Piandao was to engage them until Ozai was disposed of. Once Ozai was killed, and the next Fire Lord chosen, there would be no reason to continue fighting. Ozai was someone to die for as long as he had control of the law. Otherwise no soldier was loyal enough, especially outside of the capital to fight to the death for him. Or at least that was what they were hoping was going to be the case.

Sokka was put in control of a small group of men. His superior was an old student of Piandao's who was to focus on the south of the east. The student, Zui, was in also in charge of making sure there was communication between Piandao's force, and the force who were taking control of the South. The Great Miner Hayao's responsibility was the south. Sokka's men were to bridge the main force of Piandao and Zui men on the southern edge. It made him feel useless that he did not have a larger role, but he was only a kid, and these men had been fighting their whole lives.

The plan was that Iroh, with his allies, and two White Lotus members with their forces, were to destroy the royal prison tower, where Iroh was being held. This was to distract the guards. Once their attention was elsewhere, Earth Kingdom forces along with what was left of the Water Tribe ships after the eclipse were to break through the sea blockade and storm the harbour. At this point three White Lotus members with as many men as they could amass were to surround the capital and block off communication with the rest of the nation. Aang, Katara and Zuko were to drop from the sky with Appa, and land on the castle. Zuko, who had the most knowledge of the area was to direct them to the throne room. There they would confront Ozai. Most of the Royal guard were to hopefully be focusing on Iroh who at this point would be leading his force towards the castle.

Most of the Fire Nation army was to be North. In preparation for the comet, they were constructing giant air ships. Ozai was generally always with them overseeing the building, but had to be in the capital for the day due to his signing a royal proclamation on the rebuilding of factories on the south coast.

Piandao's force moved towards their position. Aang, and Sokka spent time together in private. Aang was unhappy Sokka was not to go along with him. They were such close friends, they started the journey together, but they were not going to finish it. It made sense though, and both of them knew it. Sokka would not be much help if they were to storm the castle. Their elite benders could take him out in a seconds notice. Even if he could, his hands were not completely healed, his palm still blend if he held his sword for too long. If he went he would go to his death, or cause all of the rest the them to die.

Aang talked about Katara. He was scared when she decided to come with him. The last he wanted was for her to be hurt. It almost seemed as if he was more frightened by this than Ozai. The two of them had been sleeping together every night, he talked about how sweet her sweat smelled rubbed against him. He was a fool in love if there ever was one.

When they arrived at the cave Piandao's force would be hiding in Sokka said farewell to Aang. Zui's force was moving south to be in a better position when the attack started. It was going to begin two hours before sunrise, the sun had just gone down, they were not going to have much time. Sokka hugged Aang and told him he'd meet him at the other side. Aang smiled and patted him on the back.

Katara kissed him on the cheek, and he swore to her he would not die. There was nothing he would rather not do. There was a silence as Zuko walked up to him. Putting his palm on Sokka's shoulder he said that he was proud they were fighting together on the same side. Sokka shook his hand, and told him how there was no one else he would rather leave Aang and his sister with. Let honour bless both of them. Ty Lee kissed him on the cheek, and said goodbye for the final time.

Ty Lee's responsibility was to move between the different fronts giving information. Her previous high standing in the army was believed to make her movements through the enemy lines easier. The enemy would not be surprised to see her running from one side to the other, or acting on her own, as she was pretty independent under Azula's command. She had volunteered for the role before it was even suggested.

Sokka never saw her again after that night. He heard about her performing her duty amazingly. Most fronts were aware of the other due to her quick feet. But then at some point she stopped. No one knows what happened to her. Sokka asked every man he could but no one knew anything. He even one night went looking through the streets for a corpse but didn't find anything. She died that day though, there is no questioning it, he just wished he knew how. A couple weeks later, at the cave, he built a small plaque in her memory and unchallenged bravery.

Sokka left with Zui, it was quiet. Most of the way it was hills and winding paths. It seemed unlikely they were going to be able to stop reinforcements from entering the city if they came with any kind of a sizeable force. They were only a few of them, but so much land to cover. They could do it though. Sokka had been preparing for this event throughout the last two years they had been traveling. It seemed almost forever ago when Aang had met Katara and him. He missed those days.

When the battle started, they could hear shouts down in the city. They spread out in a chain on pieces of higher ground. Looking for any form of communication leaving the city. It was mostly quiet. Sokka started to become more and more anxious for something to happen, yet at the same time dreading what was to occur. It felt terrible.

After a few minutes Sokka and his men regrouped on the hill Sokka was sitting. He was about to send one of his men to tell Piandao nothing was occuring to the south east, but then one of the people from Zui's main ground was seen running towards them. The man was out of breath when he came to the top of the hill. He put his hands on his knees, trying to find his voice to tell them what he had come to tell them.

Apparently, a ship had seen their forces about to attack the harbour. The ship sailed to a southern town and told them about it. They were able to assemble a group of fifty soldiers, and were marching north to the city. Great Miner Hayao's force was about to engage them. Zui was needed in his position but wanted to send as many men as was available to help out Great Miner Hayao. Sokka instantly told one of the men to run to Piandao to tell him of the situation. After the man was off, Sokka declared one of his men, the second in command, was now in charge. He was going to help out Great Miner Hayao. A few of his men agreed to go with them, and at that they ran as fast as they could to join them.

When they arrived, Great Miner Hayao's force was becoming overcome by the group. Sokka's small group came from behind and started to flank the soldiers. It was the second time Sokka's sword became bathed in the blood of his enemies. He lost awareness of his surroundings, defeating this group become important. Even though it was a minor group of soldiers, who would barely affect the battle in the city, it was the reason he wasn't with Aang; this was why he needed to stay away, for this reason.

Once last of the soldiers surrendered, Sokka's hands were dripping of blood. The skin was rubbed away from the small skirmish. There were only about thirty of Great Miner Hayao's group of seventy left. Great Miner Hayao's body was lane on a long flat rock. He looked contempt, not something Sokka would have expected from a man who was killed in battle. Maybe it was because it was the first time he had done something he truly believed was right.

The group desperately needed a leader, as many of the different groups of Great Miner Hayao's total militia started to arrive to help in the already finished battle. Soon close to a hundred men assembled. Most of them had stayed in their positions during the fight in case another group was going to try to go around the battle directly to the city. Sokka, without knowing any better, started to take control. He spread them out again, evenly, telling them they needed to stay focused, there was no telling whether or not that was going to be the last battle or not. Men twice Sokka's age followed his command without even second guessing him.

They were beyond lucky only such a small group had come, Sokka knew this. He started to discuss with the leaders of the groups from the edges of south. If the force was too large, they were to scream as loud as they could, to warn everyone else. Then they were to run away, distract them, make their focus away from the city. They were really fighting against time, not men. If they could just delay a serious force entering the city before Aang defeated Ozai, that's all they needed. The other leaders agreed and left out to the parts they were to watch.

Sokka shoulders became heavy as he waited for the next alarm. The sun had risen at least an hour before. Why was it taking them this long? It should have only taken a couple of minutes? Then he saw a man running at him. The man was waving his hands in the air. Sokka sheathed his sword, thinking quickly about how they could fight the next group.

The man came right up to Sokka, within a foot or two. Before Sokka knew what was going on the man hugged Sokka as hard as the man probably could. Ozai had been defeated. Apparently it happened pretty early in the battle, but they had trouble completely taking control of the city. But now it was over, Iroh was the new Fire Lord. The battle was over. The war was over.

Sokka assembled his men, they toasted to their good luck. They paid respect to Great Miner Hayao, put him on a stretcher and carried him down to the city. The rest of the dead would be dealt with at another time.

In the city square, as each of the members of the White Lotus came, great cheers erupted from the crowds. Iroh, wearing the crown of the Fire Lord stood at the top of the square in front of the castle. As each member came Iroh would announce their name, and thanked them personally. Afterwards they would join Iron at the front. Aang stood to his right, and Zuko to his left. There was much merriment.

When Sokka entered the square, his men carrying the flag of Great Miner Hayao, Iroh greeted the Great Miner Hayao. After seeing the Great Miner dead on the stretcher, his expression turned to one of mourning. They would remember him as a man who fought for what he believed and was never afraid.

Sokka walked up to the front to rejoin his friends. He was shocked to find not only Katara hiding in the back, but Toph as well. He had believed her dead from the eclipse. He hugged her deeper than anyone he'd ever hugged in his life. Ty Lee's absence was noted, but the others guessed she was somewhere around.

The ceremony continued until all of the White Lotus joined the square. Afterwards Sokka, Zuko, Aang, Katara and Toph went into one of the ceremonial rooms of the castle and celebrated. They talked about the past and all the crazy adventures they had partaken on to get here.

Toph described how she was surrounded by over a hundred guards during the eclipse. So she ran through the slums to find a way to escape. Finally she met up with a couple of Water Tribe Men. When the attack on the harbour had failed the ships had sailed away under Hakoda's orders, but a couple of men were still in the city. They all regrouped and hid in an empty house. The next morning they traveled south, out of the city. Eventually they came to a small village with a boat for sale. They purchased it and sailed towards the island the Tribe ships were probably hiding. It took them a couple of days but they finally found Hakoda's men. Toph convinced them to send out a group to find Aang, but before the group left, a messenger from Iroh, who knew where they were from Sokka's information, told them about the plan of the White Lotus Revolution. Knowing their position had been compromised they left the island and decided to get ready for the revolution. They also decided not to look for Aang, in case they lead the Fire Nation to him.

During the night at one point a guard walked into the room. He asked Sokka to come with him. Sokka followed him into the throne room. In the throne room was Iroh and all of the members of the White Lotus in full ceremonial garb. Sokka was asked to kneel before Iroh. Due to his bravery and leadership during the battle, as well as his continual help of the Avatar to defeat Ozai over the last two years, Sokka was officially invited to join the White Lotus, becoming the youngest member at that time by twenty years. The rest of the night he stayed with them as they had a meeting about what it meant now that they had control over the Nation, and what were they going to do or change.

The next morning he ate breakfast with all of the White Lotus, as well as Aang who had been invited grace them with his presence. Afterwards he and Aang met up with Katara. The three of them walked around the streets discussing the start of their adventure. How excited they were to come back to the Southern Tribe. How amazed they'd all be that they actually completed their mission.

Then without warning an arrow shot Aang in the neck.

Blood started to fly out of his throat, staining Sokka's face. Katara screamed as Aang fell slowly to the ground. Katara tried to heal the wound, her tears mixing with the blood flowing out of him, but it was no use.

Sokka stood there, shock on his face, red blood drying on his skin. He couldn't move, he couldn't believe what just happened. And he never was able to.

-

End of Chapter 1: Aang and the White Lotus Revolution

-

Author's Notes-

Well I hope you enjoyed the first Chapter. This is a rewrite of a story I had written two years ago. I'm pleased with the outcome. It's closer to what I had originally intended the story to be.

The story is a continuation, but also a retelling of the Avatar story. A general rule of thumb while reading would be to assume nothing's the same. Only the details of what I give are what is important and what happened. Everything else from the show may have happened, but there is no guarantee.

The characters of Great Miner Hayao and Zui are both characters I created. I will try not to use many original characters, but in certain circumstances I believe new characters must be made for the story to make sense. Mostly characters with political positions will be created, for there are few in the show.

I do not edit my work very much. I only write for fun when I'm bored, and am not very interested in trying to find every small mistake. That is why there are some pretty obvious spelling mistakes and things. If someone would like to be a proof reader, feel free to ask. Otherwise you're just going to have to live with it.

If you have any questions, I will address them in the next Author's Notes.


	2. Life in the Warm Country

The smoke from the fire warmed the room. Air became thick of the dark writings, swirling into words and hopes. Snaps from the sparks created the soundtrack. A discussion of raged around between the two different parts. The wind raged outside, small bits of snow fell through the whole in the roof. It cut off the smoke's escape, creating its own blanket over top of the shack.

A large pot was lightly boiling over the fire. Sokka had placed it there after the kettle had finished. The stew bubbled in glee as the flavours mixed together in an erotic dance of taste. Each part trying to find its mate, the other part of the concoction that would create its own small piece of nirvana.

Even after living in the Fire Nation for all those years, Sokka had yearned for the Tribe's stew. When he tried in the Nation, he could not make it with any skill, the ingredients lacked the most essential ingredient: the cold. There was something about white knuckles numb from chopping fire wood that made the soup of the south the greatest dish anyone could have. There was no need for diversity in dishes, for the stew constantly changed due to the wish of the different ingredients. It was as essential part of their world, just as was snow and water bending.

The tea, which rested in Sokka's hand, had become cold. The cup stayed pressed between his fingers, for there was nothing he understood more than his own grasp. As he thought of his hands empty, they would start to shake. His mind was empty, maybe sad. If so he was not aware of it, or at least conscious of it. It was alright though, the soup would be done soon. It would make him whole. Or at least due him over until he took out his pipe afterwards.

Rest in the south was indulgence of heat.

A knock sounded from his door.

-

Chapter 2 Life in the Warm Country

-

"Who is there?" Sokka asked. There was a silence. "If you are a ghost then please leave, I am haunted as it is!"

The door slowly opened. A young men, wrapped in as many firs one could where while still being able to move, stepped into the cabin. "Lord Sokka?"

Sokka stood up quickly. "Close the door man!" The man's eyes widened. He turned around quickly shutting the door swiftly. Sokka walked up behind him and bolted the door shut, his arms reaching around the man. Checking that the door was sufficiently closed he walked back to his seat in front of the fire. The man hung his head, "a thousand apologies my lord!" he yelled, shame painted his face red.

The man stood in the door way for a second. "Its okay man, sit. I'm about to eat. Are you hungry?" Sokka asked him without looking up from the fire. It took a second for the man to move. There was little room in the cabin. To Sokka's right was the bed, which took up the entire wall span. Across fro him was the desk covered in different papers and letters. There was a small stool in front of the desk, elevated only a foot or two. The man walked to it and sat down, trying hard not disturb anything around him.

"I have to admit, I'm pretty hungry. The weather out there is beyond anything I thought possible." The man started to remove his different firs and pile the near the door, the only place with empty space on the ground enough for all of them. His clothes under the firs were a dark green. He wore pale pants, stuffed with feathers for warmth. Across his chest was a think tunic, tied at the waist and at the shoulders so the fabric would tightly wrap around his small shoulders.

Sokka lifted his head to examine his visitor. The man's face was flat and rough. His skin had a dark tone from the sun. He had not been in the South for very long. On top of his head his hair was cut short, common from a warm place. Hair of a short length was not something commonly seen in the Tribes. The warmth the hair provided was too valuable of an asset to be sacrificed for mere fashion. "Only a fool would travel these parts at night. Why did you not wait until the sun came up to come this way?"

The man smiled a little and hid his head in shame. "I will admit I was a little too anxious to finally meet you. The men in the Tribe told me I should wait until sunrise to leave, but I told them I was a good navigator, I could make it before the sun went down. But I guess I'm not nearly good as I thought."

"So tell me, why are you here? Where are you from?" Sokka asked focusing back onto his pot. He slowly lifted the lid, steam jumped out, mixing with the smoke of the fire. He grabbed a ladle and stirred the liquid. The orange mixture bled red from the small pieces of meat. Once it was properly mixed he pressed the ladle against his lips. Slowly pouring he felt the soup splash around his mouth, flowing down his throat. The soup was ready.

Staring intently at Sokka while he did this, the man seemingly forgot the question for a couple of moments. Reassembling his focus, he started to answer. "My name is Metis, I come from the Earth Kingdom. I am not a messenger, I come on my own accord." He stopped for a second as he tried to stir up the courage for his next few words. Sokka, watching him, sat back in his chair curious as to what he was going to say. "I wish for you to let me become your apprentice. Your exploits are that of legend! I am willing to do anything, anything, if it makes me closer to you."

Sokka poured himself a bowl, scooping it into the stew. He set it on the floor next to him and did the same for Metis. "I do not know how accurate the stories you've heard of me are. You could have probably found better masters in the Earth Kingdom. One with more experience, older, one with more successes."

Metis drank his stew slowly, chewing the chunks of meat and potato. "It is true, I did not expect you to be a young man, but that is no problem. My previous master, from the Kingdom, whom from I tried to learn Earth Bending, something I was not made for, told me much of your tale. She was a companion of yours during your adventures. I trust she did not lie to me."

"I may still be a young man, but I was much younger, far too young when I did the things I did. How much I would give for only a few more years of age back then." He drank his stew. "But there is no point in thinking of such things now. What was the name of your master if you do not mind me asking?" He asked, sitting back with his belly full.

"Grandmaster Toph, she was the one who suggested I ask you to become my master," Metis said. He scooped himself another bowl of the stew and drank it this time with much speed. His hunger surely having caught up with him.

Sokka smiled slightly as he put his bowl to the ground. "Toph then. She and I were companions for most of our journeys. How is she doing in the Kingdom at the moment?"

"She is the master of a great dojo, at the peak of the Songshan mountain. To think such a young woman could be a grandmaster." Metis was about to continue but Sokka cut him off.

"It's no surprise, she was the avatar's teacher. We picked her because we could find no one else better, then. Even with her height issues," Sokka joked, memories creeping forward in his mind.

Metis smiled, seeing Sokka as comfortable as he was. "Yes, and her daughter, you'd never seen such a strong baby. A two year old girl who could easily be four or five."

Sokka frowned slightly and leaned forward. "What is her name by the way?"

Metis stared at Sokka, taken aback from Sokka's peculiar response. Without thinking of another alternative "It's Suki."

There was a few moments of silence, Sokka stood in the same position, intensely staring directly at Metis. Metis' heart beat started to rise. Then as if nothing happened Sokka sat back into his chair, his smile back on his lips. "Well, if Toph recommended you, I can not see a reason to do anything but to welcome you, my first student." Metis' smile stretched from one side of his face to the other. "Now as your first task, the fire is starting to diminish, if you could go out back and grab some fire wood. I believe there is some logs already cut, but you may have to dig for them. If there is not, there is a log right next to them which would require you to chop it yourself. You look strong enough to handle it, if you turn out not to be, do not come back."

Metis stood up, fire burning in his eyes. The last thing he wished to do was disappoint his new master on the first task that was given to him. Within a couple of seconds, he had all of his firs back around him. With a small wave, and a torch in his hands, he opened the door and stepped into the pitch black to find the fire wood.

Sokka stood up and bolted the door closed as to not lose the heat. He sat back in his chair, thinking about what things he could teach Metis. There had never been a point when he was the master before. He had to be sure he didn't screw it up. He brought his pipe to his lips and lit it. The smoke massaged his lungs, the tobacco created a sweet smell.

But before he knew it, his eyes filled with tears, the pipe fell from his lips, and he slipped off his chair onto the ground. Laying there, curled up in a ball, he cried. Cried for the first time since he had returned to the Southern Tribe, cried because for the first time he realised just how much he missed everything. How much he missed the company of his friends. How much he missed her calloused, tough hands rubbing his back.

How much he wished, that he could hold his daughter.

-

The days directly after Aang's death was a blur. Sokka wished he remembered exactly what had occured, but he was so torn with grief, there was little. The man who had fired the arrow was a member of Ozai's elite royal guard. He had been separated from his unit during the battle with Iroh at the base of the castle. Without anywhere else to go he hid in a house under a table. The next morning, he saw them walking by, and decided to have revenge for his lord. Even he was surprised his arrow hit with such perfection, and that he caught them so off guard that there was no time to defend against it.

Sokka did not know when the man was put to death. Within a couple of days of Aang's passing, he, Katara, Toph and Zuko flew his body of Appa's back to the Southern Temple. There they buried him with his people, not as the Avatar, but as the last air bender. His tomb was marked by a large stone, Sokka carved on it "_Here lies Aang, a man who fought for freedom, equality, and everyone's right to life. Taken too soon, let him dream the most wonderful of dreams". _Zuko would later use this as one of his most common phrases when talking about him to the people once he became Fire Lord.

The group of them contemplated visiting the Southern Tribe. It had been two years since they had departed on their original journey. Sokka ached for those years of innocence, and wished to see Gran Gran, who he missed immensely.

Katara was in no condition to visit it. She was stricken with grief over Aang, and it would have only made her worse to visit the first place the two of them met. Zuko too, was hesitant to return, for he was their greatest enemy when he last visited the tribe, and doubted they would accept him with open arms now. It was decided they would return at a later time, all together, when it was better for all of them. This never occured, it was close to eight years before Sokka finally returned to the Southern Tribe. Had he known that then, he would have surely went at that point.

When they returned to the Fire Nation, Iroh was preparing to give his first official address to the Nation. The fire ships that were going to be used to burn the Earth Kingdom were instead going to be used to drop pamphlets with the speech's transcript on it. There needed to be unity behind Iroh, and everyone needed to know that he was in charge now, not his brother. Things were going to change.

Zuko stood to Iroh's left during the speech. Sokka wore a ceremonial Fire Nation garb behind them with other Fire Nation members of the White Lotus. Considering the White Lotus was an international group who claimed they were not taking over the Fire Nation, it would have looked suspicious had the White Lotus members worn their own garb. Katara stayed in Zuko's wing of the palace, sleeping, Toph volunteered to stay behind and guard her. Since Aang's death they were still obsessed with security. None of them was alone at any one point.

The speech dragged on for an hour. Iroh discussed the history of the Fire Nation, its previous positions in the world before they became conquerors. How the Fire Nation had the greatest ingenuity and the most production. If they were able to focus on that, internal development, rather than conquest, the Fire Nation could become the greatest place to live in the world. His speech had a glaring omission in Sokka's mind, he never mentioned Aang once. Instead, while talking about the revolution, he credited all those who were willing to rebel. Their bravery against oppression, their willingness to say no to Ozai's maddness. They were all heroes.

If the omission bugged Sokka, it infuriated Zuko. Directly after the speech Zuko asked if he could have a private meeting with Iroh. The two walked straight into the throne room, Zuko's face covered with rage. Once the doors closed you could hear Zuko's raised voice. Sokka, who had walked with the two of them, stood outside of the door and made sure no one walking by inquired as to what was going on.

Within thirty minutes Zuko burst through the doors, looking less calm than he did before he entered. Sokka was about to follow him, but Iroh called for him to enter the room.

-

The throne room surprised Sokka when he entered it. It lacked all of the joy and jolliness present the night before. Few torches were lit, the room room a dim shadow because of it. The walls were a dark auburn, black pillars scattered around the centre in a rectangular fashion. A long satin carpet crawled through the center, ending on a few small steps. The peak of the steps sat the throne. The throne was a low chair, carved from ebony, shadows engulfing it, mostly by design. It was customary for individuals to not stair directly into the Fire Lord's eyes. It appeared the architect tried to fit this into his plan, impeding anyone's ability if they wished.

Iroh did not sit of the throne at this moment though. He sat on the ground before the stairs, the crown lying on the ground by his side. The great cloak he had been wearing while delivering the speech now lay across the throne, as if to hide it from Iroh's gaze.

Standing in the great doorway, Sokka found himself intimidated. As if Iroh understood Sokka's feeling, he gently invited Sokka into the room. "Come here Sokka, I wish to talk to you for a moment. Close the doors when you approach." The tension cut slightly, Sokka closed the two doors, darkness filled the room. Sokka started to advance towards where Iroh was seated. The carpet muted his steps as if he were not there at all.

As he became closer to Iroh, Iroh started to speak. "I have much respect for you Sokka, this could not have happened without you. Befriending Piandao, and helping Zuko find the avatar. I owe much to you." Sokka feeling a little uneasy with the praise started to slow down. Iroh motioned his hand for Sokka to sit. "Come, join me by my side."

Sokka sat down on the carpet next to him. To Sokka's surprise the ground was warm. A pleasant heat started to circulate through his body. It was a pleasant contrast to the cold floors of the Air Temple.

"Not only have you done great things, I also see great potential in you Sokka." Sokka felt shame starting to manifest in himself. "I plan to help you cultivate that potential Sokka. I see it as a responsibility of mine to the world, for if we let your potential go to waste, there is no greater crime. Zuko has listened to me for years, and will make a great Fire Lord, but he is hot headed. He needs someone by his side, someone whose reason is unmatched. Someone who can advise him, who he also trusts, and I want you to be that person," Iroh continued. Sokka found it hard to stare at Iroh, his voice carried such legitimacy and strength, it was hard to look at him as if it would be disrespectful. Sokka doubted this was what Iroh would feel, but felt it none the less.

"You honour me too much, Lord Iroh," Sokka was barely able to muster.

"I would tell you now that you have a choice to make on whether you wish to accept my offer and all the hard work it entails, but you already have, last night, by joining the White Lotus." Sokka was slightly taken aback by this, but hung his head and accepted it out right. He had accepted it, best to not dwell on it then.

"What this will entail precisely is as follows. You will have three four hour meetings with me everyday. I will teach you how to become a great statesman, strategist, and if you're lucky I'll teach you how to make tea." Iroh laughed for a second at his own joke. He still new how to laugh, even as the Fire Lord. "Master Piandao will teach you how to fight, not only with a sword, but with your head, for two hours four times a week. Finally, starting tomorrow morning you are officially a state associate. You will start a job tomorrow in the Department of War decommissioning and reassigning uses for war machines such as the raid balloons. When you figure out how the Department of War works, I will switch you to another department, until you have experience in all parts of the government."

Sokka bowed his head, "Thank you for this opportunity my Lord."

Iroh sighed slightly, having not gotten used to such formalities. "There is one other thing, Zuko too will be doing such things, you are to help him however you can. You will move in to one of the spare bedrooms of the second royal house in the city. It will be more than according." Iroh paused for a second. "Zuko will not be starting immediately, he is to go on a vacation with your companions. I think it will be good for them to have a chance to clear their heads."

"I will see you at the gates of the castle tomorrow morning at sunrise to assign you to your superior. Do not be late."

"Thank you my lord."

-

The next morning he met with Iroh and started the job. Zuko, Katara and Toph were gone when he finished. It was a surreal moment when he returned the to house the four of them had been living. It was empty, alone, that night he felt more alone than he had for years. The ghosts of his former life danced in mockery of where he was now, and what he was trying to do.

Eventually Sokka's life started to become routine. He worked around forty hours a week at the Department of War, on top of his twenty hours of training from Iroh and Piandao. Time by himself was spent sleeping or practising his sword play. If he found himself unable to sleep, as he often did in the big house, he would wander the city. He would examine every one of the small neighbourhoods for Ty Lee, he was not ready to lose another girl he loved, or at least thought he loved. For reasons unknown to even him, he believed she was alive somewhere, and he just needed to find her. These nights usually ended with him visiting the docks and joining the Water Tribes' men who were there for trade for the night.

After the Rebellion, the Water Tribes' men returned home. Hakoda left soon after Iroh's address to the nation. His men were anxious to return to the Southern Tribe before the Dark Months. Pakku and his men stayed longer, but eventually they too returned to the Northern Tribe. Trade between the Northern Tribe and the Nation officially became sanctioned just before the Pakku left. Since then there was always at least a single Water Tribe ship in port at the harbour of the capital dropping off another shipment.

Sokka started to smoke his pipe while with them, and joined in on their heavy drinking of rice wine. It was the first time since Aang's training under Pakku he was with his fellow tribesmen. He desperately wished to be accepted as one of them, even if it meant getting drunk to the level in incapacitation every night they were together.

After two months Katara, Toph and Zuko returned. Sokka's life did not change much, as most of his time was still divided; when he could not sleep and went on the walks everyone else in the house was generally asleep so he would go on them alone. Sokka had little knowledge of what Toph and Katara did for most of the time, Zuko he knew was receiving close to the same treatment as himself. Katara was still grieving in a sense over Aang, this did not diminish for a long time, and in a sense never did.

Around two and a half months after Zuko's return Iroh decided to reform some of the Fire Nation policies. Iroh decided to create more of a federalist government, assigning Lords to all the territories of the Fire Nation. Only the area around the capital stayed exclusively under his control. The Lords were given pretty large freedoms to do as they wished, but the Fire Lord was still Sovereign, and had the ultimate say in all decisions. Most lords who were appointed were either rich land owners, army generals or members of the White Lotus. Jeong Jeong found it hilarious when he was given Lordship. Piandao was declared the official advisor to the Fire Lord. Zui became the Lord of Piandao's home territory. While this was applauded by many people, Sokka viewed it as Iroh giving power as a reward for the people who helped him, or to the people he was thankful didn't question his rule. Otherwise Iroh would have been afraid they may uprise against him for being unjust.

In the reforms, the Earth Kingdom was given back to the Monarch, and all city states retained their sovereignty. Bumi, happy with this, left only days after the reforms. In Ba Singe Se, Kuei returned to rule, only to be arrested by the Dai Li and the former Fire Nation's Generals who decided they wanted to continue rule and defy the Fire Nation. Iroh, who had in all likelihood seen this coming, ignored it claiming it was Earth Kingdom business, not the Nation's.

Sokka's practical life did not change much. He was shifted to another department a month later, into Trade, but it wasn't much different from War. Toph started to come along on some of Sokka's walks. She felt alone, Aang was gone, and Katara spent most of the day in doors, lost in thought. Zuko and Sokka were busy with official work, something that was no interest to the rebellious girl. She would have never been able to take orders from authority in the way those occupations required.

When Sokka visited the Water Tribes' men initially he'd walk her back to the palace, but eventually let her come along. Even though she was two years younger than Sokka she could hold her liquor much better. This in turn, just made her drink even more. Instead of becoming a violent drunk as most peopl would assume she'd become, she would become very sad. It was almost surreal to see such a down to earth, always positive individual change moods so drastically. She only admitted then how much she missed her parents, her life in the Kingdom, her small amount of friends, and how alienated she felt in the Nation. After one of these nights the two of them would often share the same bed, so that neither had to be alone.

Five months later Sokka heard about Lord Ashitan. He controlled the most North East of the territories. Before Iroh took control of the Fire Nation he was a former general under Ozai, and one of the people in charge of the burning of the Earth Kingdom. Ashitan was gaining a reputation for being very anti-Iroh. He defaced all statues and government buildings that referred to the royal family. Rumours of his building camps were rapid. Apparently if one questioned his authority they would be put on a camp where they would have to build rounds in the most extreme locations until they worked themselves to death. These Gulags had not been confirmed yet and was often seen as a propaganda piece against Ashitan. Most importantly Ashitan was rumoured to be assembling an army, one of the few things Lords were strictly forbidden to do. When Sokka asked Iroh about Ashitan, he simply responded how they were working on it.

Over the next six months Sokka on a Trade mission visited the Northern Tribe. He needed the break from the Fire Nation and felt at home for the first time in a while. Even though he worked almost all the time he was in the north, he felt as if he was vacationing for the first time in a year. Soon after returning from the North his vision turned South, and he, Katara, Toph and Zuko started to plan a visit to the Southern Tribe.

Toph was becoming worse in the way that she had started drinking at all points of the day. Initially after the rebellion she practised bending for ten hours a day, but now the number was greatly declining. She no longer only shared Sokka's bed after a visit to the Tribes' men, she was now a permanent guest in his bed. Sokka did not mind though, he loved to touch her skin, her small body resting in his arms. He loved it when she stood in front of him, without any clothes, her small perk breasts silhouetted. He loved most of all the thought that she was not going to leave him. She was strong, she was not fighting, she was staying with him. When they had sex, it felt like a promise of perseverance, and of mutual covenant. But in reality, they were just kids who still didn't want to be alone at night.

The situation with Ashitan was declining more and more each day. Even though those living in the capital were living as if nothing was happening. Ashitan had started to annex territory from other Lord's land by force. Iroh was still hesitant for full on assault, for it he attacked a Lord for mere disobedience without proof, the legitimacy of all of the Lords would be ruined. The bureaucratic process was long and arduous, and Sokka who was working right in the thick of it, was more aware of this than anyone else.

For ten months Sokka and the other three tried to find a point for their visit to the Southern Tribe. Whenever a situation seemed resolved another would arise. The two year anniversary of the rebellion came and went yet they still did not go. Finally Toph and Katara decided to go by themselves, declaring the four of them would go together at a calmer time.

That night, alone in the huge house, Sokka and Zuko drank together. Most of the night they traded pleasantries, and discussed the specifics of certain things at the ministry of Education, where both worked at this moment. Neat the end of the night Sokka got up from where he was sitting and walked towards Katara's room.

-

The door was ajar, Sokka merely had to slide it a couple of inches to have a full view. On all sides of the room were pillows, scrolls, and books. The pillows differed in size and shape. They appeared to mostly be made out of silk or felt. Anyone looking them would know the pillows were the best one could buy. Money wasn't a factor back then though, for Zuko, inherited Ozai's fortune. Zuko was the second richest person in the world, second only to Kuei. There was little light, most of the books were scattered. They were mostly open, as if she had never completely finished any of them.

It was surreal for Sokka to see Katara's cage for the last couple of months. She refused to let anyone see in her room, or to leave the room when it wasn't time for a meal. Her life was becoming detached from everyone else. It had went by mostly unnoticed by Sokka. Working at all time had changed all the focuses of his life. Standing in front of Katara's self made prison, strained the strings guiding his heart. The marionette of feelings, Sokka had lost the focus of what he should care most about, the people around him.

Zuko walked up to Sokka's shoulder. He gently but his bare palm on top of Sokka's shoulder. "The trip will get her better. All she needed was to get back with familiarity, which she'll get if there. Its the only place she knew without Aang."

Sokka grabbed Zuko's hand and directed it off of him. He took a step into Katara's room, carefully guiding each movement so that he didn't affect anything. As he walked he said "I know, I just feel like I've let her down. She hasn't been the same since we came back from the temple."

Zuko started to follow him, braving the same path Sokka was cutting through the junk. "Yeah I know." When the two of them reached the center of the room Zuko found a great red pillow to sit upon. Sokka stood in the middle for a couple of seconds later, trying to completely get his barings. Feeling a little more comfort in the surroundings he joined Zuko on the ground. "Sokka, I love you like a brother, these last two years have been some of the happiest of my life. I've never really had friends before, true friends. But I have to make a confession."

There was silence between the two of them. Sokka erected himself a little from his chair, but didn't dare say a word. He just looked at Zuko, trying to guess what he was talking about. "I, well, me and Katara, we," he stopped for a second, trying to escape Sokka's eyes. "Back when Azula was talking Ba Singe Se, and she put us in the dungeon together. We talked, and connected. At first we were at each other's throats but, then we started to see how similar we were. The first night, it was cold, and alone. We though you and Aang had been killed, and that was why they had not thrown you in there as well. After the first week we had started to sleep together, that started to build up, until it became a physical relationship."

Sokka's face grew Stoic, his mind exploded with connections as the missing piece of a puzzle that had bugged him for years now made sense. "But you, you betrayed us in battle against Azula!" That day still stuck in Sokka's mind more than he would have liked. Believing Aang was dead, was scary. Now he no longer had to just believe it.

"I made a mistake!" Zuko yelled throwing a pillow across the room. His eyes slowly started to water, his face fell into his arms. "I made the biggest fucking mistake." Sokka felt like walking over and comforting Zuko, but felt that would be inappropriate to do to the next Fire Lord.

"So that's why she couldn't trust you while we were in the temple. It always confused me, she was the first person to suggest looking for the good in people. You were the sole exception. Its good to see she seemed to have a pretty fucking good reason for it." Sokka smiled a little, trying to lighten up the mood a little, but instead it did the opposite. The gap between Sokka and Zuko widened.

Zuko wiped the tears from his eye. His left eye didn't have tear ducts, letting only his right eye feel pain. "Yes, well I deserved it, no debating that. There's more to the story though. At the temple I kept my distance, I knew she wouldn't want me, and I was still grieving from Mai's death. I wanted to mourn my fiancée a little longer." Sokka knew that comment was directed at him. As much as he had the right to call out Zuko for having done bad things to him, Zuko had just the same to do the opposite.

"And there was also Aang. Something I've never said before was that Aang promised Katara he would love her for the rest of his life on our way to fight Ozai. I don't know if she shared the sentiment, she didn't say anything in return. I thought I was over her, but when we were fighting, it was pretty fucking intense. There was one point Ozai had thrown Katara to the other side of the room right next to where I was standing. She was pretty hurt and couldn't get up. Ozai went into the stance to call lightning. In that split second, before I knew what I was doing I stood right in front of her, arms extended. I stared my father straight in the eyes, I was ready to die, if I knew it was to save her. It sounds cheesy as hell, I know, but that was what happened and how I felt."

Standing up Zuko started to walk towards Sokka. Sokka lounged back into the cushion he was leaning on, staring at Zuko as he advanced. "The reason I tell you this Sokka is, that, when Katara comes back, it is my intention to propose to her. We always discuss how the world should be more homogeneous, well how amazing would it be for the next Fire Lord's wife to be the daughter to one of the Tribe's chieftains. I just didn't want you to think I was doing it purely for political reasons, I do, really love her." He breathed deeply, Sokka was dumbfounded, and hoped it didn't show on his face. "And I can do her so much good. She will be taken care of like a queen. She'll have the opportunity to read, and learn as much as she likes. There'll never be a day of work in her life if she doesn't want it. And maybe, just maybe, I can help her to forget about Aang, just a little."

Sokka sat there with his mouth shut. He also knew something Zuko was not going to admit. If you are proposed to by the Fire Lord, by the heir to the Fire Lord, you can not turn it down. The amount of shame that would be brought on the Lord would be so great, even if the woman didn't like being near him, it would still be in her favour to accept. Zuko was just as much asking Sokka for permission to propose to Katara, as he was asking Sokka whether or not Katara would hate the idea, and hate him her entire life if he asked her. "I'm sorry to say Zuko, I've been so disconnected with Katara, I do not know whether it is a good idea. If you do end up doing it, I will be supportive, because she needs something to break her out of her grieving."

Zuko sat back down, his stress lifted a little by the exchange. "Do you think Aang liked me, I mean, if he knew about everything?"

Sokka looked at the ceiling trying to think of Aang, and what he was like. "I don't know, and I never will. But I can tell you this, it doesn't matter what Aang would have thought, it's what they people who around you think. And I like you Zuko, and I would be proud to call you my brother."

"Thank you man. I think we're going to make a great team when we run this country, what do you think?"

"There's no doubt in my mind."

-

Over the next eight months Sokka and Zuko went back to focusing on their studies and work. Toph and Katara had still not returned. The situation with Lord Ashitan was decling. Ashitan was found to be building defences in case someone attacked him. Iroh finally decided he could ignore Ashitan no longer. Amassing the army, Iroh invades Ashitan's territory. The progress is slow and bloody, less than three years after Ozai was defeated, the Fire Nation was at war once more.

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Author's Notes-

Well I hope you enjoyed the second chapter. Feel free to review.

I would like to thank Nykon for the kind words, thank you for that.

Story Notes-

The character's ages are different in this story than from the show. When they are introduced the ages are as follows.

The story is a continuation, but also a retelling of the Avatar story. A general rule of thumb while reading would be to assume nothing's the same. Only the details of what I give are what is important and what happened. Everything else from the show may have happened, but there is no guarantee.

Ages of the three characters find Aang: Sokka - 16, Katara - 15, Zuko - 17. Then they travel for around a year before they meet Toph, so at that point their ages are: Sokka - 17, Katara - 16, Zuko - 18, Toph - 14. They travel one more year before Ozai is defeated, so their ages at the ends of revolution are: Sokka -18, Katara - 17, Zuko - 19, Toph - 15. At the beginning of the war against Ashitan three years have passed, their ages are: Sokka - 21, Katara - 20, Zuko - 22, Toph - 18. On Sokka's island when he meets Metis, Sokka is 29.

The characters of Ashitan and Zui are both characters I created. I will try not to use many original characters, but in certain circumstances I believe new characters must be made for the story to make sense. Mostly characters with political positions will be created, for there are few in the show.

I do not edit my work very much. I only write for fun when I'm bored, and am not very interested in trying to find every small mistake. That is why there are some pretty obvious spelling mistakes and things. If someone would like to be a proof reader, feel free to ask. Otherwise you're just going to have to live with it.

If you have any questions, I will address them in the next Author's Notes/Story Notes.

Question for Mediation: Are Iroh's reforms really reforms? Is his decentralising really only him giving political favours to people who helped him before? When he gives the Earth Kingdom and all conquered lands back to their own rulers, is it because the Fire Nation was wrong to invade, or was it because they were costly to maintain, and was instead to help refocus their economy?


	3. The Melting of the Northern Tribe

Chapter 3- The Melting of the Northern Tribe, Death of Iroh

It was four months into the campaign against lord Ashitan when Katara and Toph returned from the Southern Tribe. They had spent a year there, Katara described how the cold reinvigorated her blood. Toph had enjoyed the quiet, away from the loud noises of the city. She was able to see vibrations considerably better there. She never actually admitted it but she could not see very well in the capital due to all of the different vibrations from the steam machines which powered the area.

Both of them seemed almost like completely different people when they returned. Gone was the neurosis obsessed girls who were lost in a different land. That is not to say they were completely better. Katara still disliked leaving the house, but she moved freer around the rooms. Her bedroom was no longer her self imposed cage.

Toph started to bend for hours everyday once more. She seemed more like a complete person, her unbreakable confidence returned. There was no mention of her need to be with someone, to not be alone. She slept alone in her room once more. It almost seemed as if her relationship with Sokka had never existed. There was no closure, they just continued to live as if the closeness they had needed the year before was only a game they played, and didn't need to be mentioned.

It wasn't hard to ignore the past relationship. Most of Sokka's time was spent dealing with the war against Lord Ashitan. Sokka and Zuko had been transferred back into the Departement of War. Zuko had a more direct responsibility, the heir of the Fire Lord, in a time of war, was instantly given the responsibility of General. Much of his time was spent directly on the front. He would come back to the capital every couple of weeks, but these were for business and little more. Sokka was one of the main aids to the General in charge of troop distribution, General Gurit. The General was also generally at the front, personally overseeing the distribution from the DMZ. In the capital Sokka was in charge of making sure the General received all of the troops he needed in the war. The troops levels all over the Nation needed to be overseen so no area was completely without troops after the troops from the area was called to the battlefield. This was another of Sokka's responsibilities.

Sokka did little of the work himself. General Gurit would ask for more troops. Sokka would find the area with the most troops who had not been deployed and deploy them. It felt to him like he was just the middle man with little power. He wished he could do more, more than mere administration. But he was also able to continue most of his sessions with Iroh, and that was good. Piandao was in charge of the campaign specifically, so Sokka's sessions with him were put on hold.

When Toph and Katara returned Sokka was overjoyed. He needed something to distract him from his job. Otherwise he would have continued to visit the docks and drink himself into oblivion. Initially he was happy that they were feeling so much better. But soon he was even more depressed and detached. Toph's almost complete ignoring of their relationship hurt him deep, and soon he was visiting the docks even more often. He'd drink until his face became numb, it was then he felt happy like he was during the adventure with Aang.

Two months went by with little change. Sokka was starting to hate the routine, but was starting to accept it. When it changed he felt like he should have been enjoying it more before hand. Toph had decided she was to return to the Earth Kingdom.

It wasn't said out loud, but Toph had suffered some traumatic incidents back at her home. Sokka never heard her admit anything more than how her parents were overly protective. Something more was going on though, Sokka and Katara was sure of it. The possibility of sexual abuse seemed likely: her detached feelings towards her family, her maturity beyond her years, her overly aggressive nature. Sokka never asked her about it, but was convinced if it wasn't that, than it was something of equal damage.

Toph was not going to return to her home anyway. She was planning on going to Ba Singe Se to be trained by one of the Grandmasters. Considering she had invented Metal Bending, it wasn't going to be difficult to gain master-ship, but she needed more guided training. She also required at least five Grandmasters to officially agree to accept her as a Grandmaster. They were going to be difficult to convince, especially because of her age. It seemed like the right time for her to start the process anyway. She was not afraid of the Earth Kingdom any more, she was not afraid of her parents any more. She was ready to move forward with her life.

Days after she had left Sokka continued to feel apprehension. He had never got any closure. Maybe he should have confronted her about it before she left? It was too late to worry about it but it bugged him non the less. Katara seemed not to mind Toph's absence, but at the same time the last two months Sokka had been with her in more than a year, Katara had been with her the whole time.

There wasn't much of an opportunity for it to bug Sokka for too long. He was called to the front by Piandao, it was time for him to join the war first hand. No longer was he to be trapped at a desk. Sokka was happy about the decision, it would take his mind away from the meaningless things that had been bugging him. Or he would die, but he wouldn't let that happen.

It took days to travel to the DMZ, which was the border between Lord Ashitan's territory and Jeong Jeong's territory. There he met Piandao and Jeong Jeong who had been leading the campaign. He was debriefed on the situation immediately. Most of the troops were going through the different villages trying to root out supporters of Ashitan. Zuko was leading the siege on Delia, the largest city in the territory where Ashitan was fortified inside. Ashitan had lost most of the ground battle already, but Delia had the second largest port in the Fire Nation. He was miraculously holding onto sea dominance between Delia and numerous small towns who were loyal to him across the Northern Coast.

Sokka was to be given an elite group of one hundred and fifty. Their responsibility was to go to the villages in the northern coast and destroy all of their means of trade with Delia. This meant destroying their ships, harbours, and even their food supplies. The company he was to lead was generally previous members of the royal guard, and former spies. They needed to hit fast and quiet, without disturbing the whole village if possible. For if the village found them destroying the village's only means of employment, the means they use to feed their family, the village would not be happy. Every member of the village may attack them, including women and children. Piandao wanted to limit the amount of massacres in the villages if possible. If they were to massacre a village, it would hurt their reputation and increase the chances of more people joining Ashitan.

It was a tough assignment, but Sokka was considered more than capable. Considering his work of slight guerrilla warfare with Aang, he was one of the most experienced in the field. It worked well for the next four months. They destroyed eight village's harbours, ships and food storage. Sokka felt terrible that he was condemning the people to extreme poverty once they couldn't work, but it was going to end the war quicker, it was worth it. Most of the attacks ended with minimal casualties, less than 20 dead per village. But, there was one village where their alarm was sounded, and they ended up killing upwards to 70 people, of which half were women and children. Sokka tried not to think of that incident, they quickly burned all of the houses in the village and left into the forest. His eyes refused to shut that night.

At the end of the four months Sokka was asked to regroup in the DMZ, that wasn't much of a DMZ, it was more securely Jeong Jeong's territory at this point, but they still referred to it as the DMZ. It was decided since Sokka's mission and increased pressure on the Delian port had insured victory. Iroh was to take over the siege directly, after his failure at besieging Ba Singe Se, he had been hesitant taking over direct responsibility in the campaign, but he had to lead it somehow for the Fire Lord was technically the Head General of the Fire Nation. He would be viewed as a failure if he never directly lead the army.

People such as Zuko and Sokka, who had been fighting hard the last couple of months were relieved of their posts and given leave. The next morning the two of them started the trip back to the capital. Sokka had been sleeping on the dirt for the last four months, he was looking forward to sleeping in one of the fancy beds in the royal house they lived.

When they arrived Katara was the happiest Sokka had seen her in years. She hugged both of them describing in length how worried she was. Neither of them she had much faith with. She joked how back with Aang Sokka was a total klutz and Zuko failed at whatever he tried. The three of them laughed for a while, and drank heavily that night. Sokka had not brought his pipe with him to battle, and spent as much time during the night with smoke in his lungs as he could.

Sitting around each other, the alcohol proccessed by their livers, it was the first time Sokka had been happy himself in years. He enjoyed it. They all needed that night, they all relaxed and had fun. They joked about the past, and made mention of each other's great deeds. Zuko and Katara described the battle they had with Ozai, how it went on in length and how Aang fought like a mad man. Zuko described it as the most amazing thing he had ever seen. Zuko and Katara fell asleep in each other's arms. Sokka walked onto the rood and fell asleep under the moon, her light blanketed his cold and chased away the darkness.

The time in the capital was the first time Sokka had enjoyed a break from his constant work since the end of the revolution. He still trained for hours everyday, but he did it at his own pace, and tried to enjoy it. Zuko and Katara went on walks together around the capital. Katara wanted Zuko to show her all of the interesting sites around the city. It was the first time she was regularly walking around the streets. After Aang's death she was afraid of the city, and viewed it as hostile. It was different now though, and she was ready to face this.

It was some time around this when Zuko asked Katara if she would like to marry him. Katara told Sokka about it later. In Fire Nation culture, one does not ask another one whether they would like to marry them, especially not in private. Zuko was actually willing to go against the mores he was familiar with. Katara didn't tell Sokka what she told Zuko, she said it was between the two of them. Zuko had made her promise specifically not to tell Sokka.

The three of them often sat under the moon together late at night. Katara would tell of Water Tribe legends, it was a little piece of home, the home Sokka had not seen in so long. The harbour stopped being a place Sokka would visit. He decreased the amount he drank to a little every night. His pipe he kept with him at all times though. He would smoke it at all times of the day. The pipe, while a large part of the Tribe culture, was seen as strange in the Nation. Sokka had originally been afraid to smoke it away from the harbour in case he made someone uncomfortable. He did not care any more, and would often walk down the street with it hanging between his lips.

One night, while they were sitting on a the roof under the stars a messenger burst through the door. Sokka and Zuko rose immediately, the guards had specific orders not to disturb them. The man was panting, as if he had been running a long distance. Something so urgent as this was generally not good news. Sokka swallowed hard.

The messenger told them how Lord Ashitan had escaped from Delia. He grabbed all of the men he still had loyal to him in the city, stole all of the food left, and sailed out of harbour. They moved in an arrow formation and burst through the sea blockade Iroh had set around the waters near the city. Iroh and most of the ships from the blockade were in pursuit of Ashitan and his men. The rest of the troops were in Delia, trying to get food to the starved citizens.

Sokka, Zuko and Katara burst into a sprint towards the harbour. Sokka told the man to tell the palace to mobilise the entire battalion of troops stationed in the capital. The man told him he had already told General Gurit, who was at the palace, and Gurit told him where to find Zuko, while Gurit mobilised the force. The small armada of ships in the harbour were being armed and troops were being assigned roles when the three of them arrived.

Sokka knew very well what Ashitan's plan was. He was going to do a suicide mission. One of Ashitan's topics of propaganda, was how the war should not have ended. It would not have been to difficult to destroy the Tribes without many casualties. The Fire Nation already owned the Earth Kingdom, if they had simply annihilated the Tribes, the Nation would have been successful and won the war. That was his plan right now: he was going to destroy the Northern Tribe, to prove he was right.

The Water tribe men from the harbour were confused by what was going on around them. None of the Fire Nation soldiers thought to inform them. Sokka ran up to them and told them about the situation. The started to get their ships ready with haste. There was no way they were going to let Ashitan destroy their home. Katara started to help them out, for if she didn't, they wouldn't be prepared for when the Fire Nation Ships were ready to ship out.

Sokka, Zuko, General Gurit, and three other generals talked strategy. Sokka told them he was going to sail with the Water Tribe men to the Northern Tribe. If they were right about Ashitan's plan to attack, the Tribe would need to be informed. Zuko agreed and volunteered to captain a ship in accompaniment. Another ship was going to sail to Ba Singe Se to inform them of Ashitan in case Ashitan instead planned to seek refuge in the Earth Kingdom. The Earth Kingdom was ruled by old generals from the Fire Nation and former Dai Lee members, they may sympathize with Ashitan. The rest of the ships were to meet up with Iroh and try to intercept Ashitan's ships. Zuko wished all of the men luck, and all of the men who returned would receive commendations from him afterwards.

Sokka ran back to the Water Tribe ships, who, with Katara's water bending's ability to move heavy objects, were ready to sail out. Within a minute they untethered the ships and set their course towards the Northern Tribe. Sokka stood at the front of the boat, staring towards the black sea. They were going to need luck to arrive at the Tribe before Ashitan.

-

The sun reflected off of the white snow. The glare lit the ground, surrounding the air with a timid glow. Sokka's cabin rested by itself in an empty field. To the north was the sea, on the coast lay his personal canoe, and Metis' dingy. The south had a few scattered trees who were naked from the cold. Their lush colourful beauty having fallen away from its grasp weeks before. Little escaped the reach of the snow, that lay like a blanket wrapped around all things.

Sokka stood next to the door of his cabin. The sunken entrance to the cabin created a slight indent in the flat surrounding. The wind never liked uniqueness, and kept the area a nice controlled level. Sokka's pipe rested between his frozen lips. His body was covered in furs, with belts of leather keeping it uniform on his waist, shoulders and elbows. A think cotton pant covered his legs, something the Tribe would trade fish for from the Earth Kingdom. Before the war ended, when he was little, the tribe had to ration their pants and treated them as a luxury as important to survival as fish.

Sokka stood still, watching Metis as he swung his sword at the invisible enemies. Metis wore less layers because of his physical activity. It was not smart to wear furs while practising in case one was to sweat and cause a chill. Sokka had asked Metis to give a demonstration of his current fighting abilities. Metis, who knew Sokka's specialty was the sword, had wanted to show how much he knew about that first.

It was obvious Metis had received training for Earth bending before. His legs were spread apart, firmly placed upon the ground. Just like in earthbending he was waiting for his invisible enemies to strike him, so that he could perform a powerful counter-attack. It was a fair strategy, but was not perfect. The problem with Earthbending is if you get in close to them. There is no opportunity to create force when there is no distance for the counter-attack to move. Sokka knew this, he knew how to counter all of the bending arts. The real trick was not to be afraid, it was something he was going to have to instil in Metis.

It wasn't going to be too difficult though. Metis seemed an adequately good apprentice for Sokka's first time teaching. He was fast, and had strong arms. He was also smart and resourceful, there was no denying it. If he was able to navigate the night before through the pitch black, in a foreign land, then he was capable. And capability was essential for someone without the ability to bend to learn.

Sokka started to motion toward Metis, which soon broke out into a walk. "Move your feet," Sokka commanded as he continued to advance. Metis went on to arch his sword, confused on what to do. "Move your feet," Sokka repeated as he became in range of Metis' sword. Metis tried to move his feet backward to escape Sokka's advancement but was only able to take small steps, and without realising it, swung his sword toward Sokka. Sokka grabbed the pipe out of his mouth, parried the blow with the pipe, using Ty Lee's paralysing techniques he paralysed Metis' hand holding the sword and took grasp of it. Within a heart beat Sokka was directly in front of Metis' face, only a small inch separated their eyes. "Sword is not you speciality, that's obvious, but since you decided to try and show off with it, I'll teach you how to fight. I know Earthbending calls for your feet to be firm on the ground, but you need to be nimble. Your old master Toph knew that."

Metis, who stood there with shock written across his face merely nodded his head. For the next couple of hours Sokka showed Metis how to make his stance more nimble. First he was going to have to learn how to learn this stance before Sokka was to show him all of the others. There wasn't a moment though when Metis' determination staggered. Even when the Sokka decided they were done for the day, Metis stayed firm, his back arched straight.

The sun had begun to recede behind the horizon. The snow started to reflect the orange the sun painted the sky. Reds blended on the edges of the clouds who circled the sun. The ground was flat enough for the light to be evenly distributed throughout the earth. It was something only found on the remote islands around the Tribe.

But when the sun went down, the beauty only lasted a few moments. Soon pitch black would surround everything. The cold would become harsh and sharp. Skin would feel rough and thin under the moist cold freezing upon it. It was no weather to continue to practice in.

The two of them entered into the cabin and removed their firs. Sokka sat back onto his chair in front of his bed. Metis seated himself again on the stool that was used for the desk. Using flint Sokka started the fire in the middle of the room, and put the kettle on top of the rack that lay over top of it. Metis' skin was red, and he was shivering. He had not been wearing much warm clothes outside due to his physical movement; he was still not used to the cold in the South. The tea would warm him up, and then after that the soup would. Sokka sat back in his chair and lit his pipe.

"Master, may I ask you a question?" Metis asked as his jaw shook. Sitting down he was obviously feeling the cold more.

Sokka inhaled. His eyes studied Metis wondering what sort of thing would Metis be wondering about. The smoke slowly exited his nose, and danced as it mixed with the smoke from the fire. "You may ask me a question whenever you wish Metis, you do not have to always be so formal." He sat back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Metis' face.

It was a minute before Metis was able to muster up enough courage to ask his question. "Well, when I was twelve, I heard from whispers between my father and his servants about the siege of Ba Singe Se by the White Lotus. I didn't think much of it. I was small and the 20 tyrants didn't affect me. But, then I heard about you, Sokka of Many Nations, the man who had liberated the Earth Kingdom. I was wondering how accurate those stories were. Did you really defeat the entire Elite Bender Corps with one hundred men?"

"I haven't heard that title in three years," Sokka smiled for a second remembering it. "I did defeat the Bender Corps, but it was with two hundred, not one hundred. Around one hundred survived I guess, that was probably where that came from. It wasn't a battle to be glorified though, we ambushed their camp while they slept, honour was not present on that day." Sokka inhaled his pipe once more. "Do they still call me Sokka of Many Nations in the Kingdom?"

Metis was hesitant to answer. "No, they call you Sokka the Kingslayer."

Sokka frowned, but he was not surprised. He exhaled all the smoke from his lungs, as if trying to drive out all of his inner demons.

-

When Sokka and Katara's ship arrived at the Northern Tribe it was on fire. There were about fifteen different Fire Nation ships who appeared to have rammed the town's walls just wide enough for men to storm inside. Zuko scowled, as he knew he had used the same technique against the Southern Tribe when he first fought the Avatar. The huts, that were almost all made out of wood were engulfed in flames. People were fighting in between the huts, fire and water were hurled in all directions.

Katara jumped out of the ship as soon as it was close enough to do so. Within a blink of an eye the entire rest of the crew had followed her. Sokka stood in a slight shock for a second, having lost faith in his eyes. How could this be happening?

It didn't make sense. Iroh's ships should have engaged the enemy long enough for the other ships to arrive. The reinforcements were traveling a direct route to intercept. How had their intelligence and plan failed so miserably.

Zuko's ship hit land, the waves from it hit Sokka's boat enough so that he was came back to reality and realised what was happening. Zuko and his men jumped off of the high deck of the steel Fire Nation ship they had been riding in. Sokka ran off of his ship to join them. No matter how much he disliked it Sokka unsheathed his sword, and was ready to use it to kill. He had hoped he wouldn't have to do it again, or at least for a couple of years.

The battle raged on for a couple of minutes. Sokka and Zuko stayed together moving closer and closer to the palace, where most of Ashitan's men were falling back to. It was then Ashitan climbed on top of palace, Zuko and Sokka were at the foot of the great stairs leading to it. He yelled "Raging Fire!" loud enough with a voice that could be heard for miles. It was a common Fire Nation war cry. After he finished yelling, he lifted his arms and exploded in a ball of fire larger than anything Sokka had seen before. The shock wave alone flew Sokka to the ground.

Zuko seemed mostly unaffected and continued to run into the fire. When the explosion had subsided, the palace was in ruin. Most of Ashitan's own men had been injured in the blasts. Their cries of pain were heard all around. Ashitan stood on top of most of the rubble, his face was covered in ash. He saw Zuko climbing the steps and yelled "I have defeated the Fire Lord, what are you possibly going to do? I won!" He may have planned to say something else, but was struck with lightning. Sokka had never seen Zuko bend lightning before. Zuko's face was covered in rage, but the battle was over, they had won.

Sokka and Zuko looked to find Katara. She was sitting over Pakku's body sobbing. She was tired of everyone she knew dying, so very tired. It was the first time Sokka had seen Pakku since the revolution. Sokka grabbed a symbol of the White Lotus from his pocket, and placed it over Pakku's heart.

Zuko quickly boarded his ship to travel back to the Fire Nation. He needed to find out what had happened, why the interception had been such a failure.

Katara and Sokka decided to stay behind and help to reconstruct the city. The stayed with people who they had known while they were there with Aang. It was a quiet night, sobbing could be heard all over the land. When morning arrived they were going to have to bury the dead.

A few days later a messenger from the Fire Nation arrived. He told them about what had happened in the Nation. Apparently the ships in the blocade had been bought off and infiltrated by Ashitan supporters. That was how Ashitan and his small armada of ships were able to escape the city so easily. When Iroh and his men joined with the men on the ship they followed Ashitan's ships without relieving their true alliance. It was only when they were about to intercept Ashitan's ship in battle that one of the soldiers stabbed Iroh in the back and killed all of the men loyal to Iroh on the ship. When there were none of his supporters left, they stripped Iroh and threw him off of the ship, telling him to enjoy his swim. They never recovered his body.

The force from the capital who were to join with Iroh's ships found only the ship Iroh had been sailing on. The rest of the ships from the blocade had joined Ashitan in his attack on the Northern Tribe. General Gurit arrested all the men on the ship and set a course to the Northern Tribe. They met up with Zuko's ship returning to the capital. They all together sailed to the capital where they met up with Piandao and the other generals who had not joined in the chase of Ashitan.

Zuko arrested Piandao for the failure of the campaign he was responsible for. Jeong Jeong was given all of Ashitan's old land, and told it was his responsibility to deal with the mass poverty the area now suffered after the war. Every single man who was on the ship that betrayed Iroh was hanged. Iroh was given a royal funeral, despite their lack of a body. Even though Iroh had spent his whole life waiting to be Fire Lord, he was only Fire Lord for three and a half years. The next day Zuko was sworn in as the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation.

Sokka and Katara stayed in the Northern Tribe for six months helping to rebuild. Katara began to teach certain water bending techniques, and was given the rank of master water bender. It was there Sokka met Atanarjuat, the prodigy water bender who had been Pakku's prized student before his death. Atanar, the name he liked to go by, asked specifically to learn blood bending from Katara. He became Katara's first student, and learned almost at as fast a rate as Katara did.

At the end of the six months another messenger of Zuko's came. He told the both of them were required for an audience with the Fire Lord, and failure to fulfill this request would result in jail time if they visited the Fire Nation afterwards. Without a choice they both, and Atanar returned to the capital.

When their boat arrived they were greeted by Zuko wearing complete ceremonial garb. They walked to the palace and sat down together in the royal dining hall. Once there Zuko mentioned how much he had missed them, but that there was a real reason for the summons. Iroh had left in his will, numerous items to them. Katara was to receive one quarter of the land Iroh owned, which was enough for a decent fortune. Sokka was to receive more gold than he was ever going to need. Iroh had also left Sokka his office. Sokka was to own everything left in the room, Zuko handed him the key.

After the formalities were over Zuko had servants bring out wine and they started to drink. Sokka left the room pretty early on and visited the door to Iroh's office. He had never been inside, nor had anyone he knew. The key fit snugly into the keyhole and the latch made a thump sound as it unlocked. Slowly pushing over the door Sokka looked around the room. There were two desks, on opposite walls, books stacked five feet high lined the rest of the room.

On one of the desks there was a robe laid across it and a small note on top of a book. The note read:

_Dear Sokka,_

_If you are reading this then I have died in siege against Ashitan._

_Over the last three years I have grown to view you as an equal, a man with intelligence far beyond that of a normal person. It is with this knowledge, and my belief in your ability, that I name you my successor as Grand Lotus. Attached to this letter I leave a book I call _The Lotus _in which describes everything you will need to know._

_I am sorry I could not have enjoyed your company longer_

_Lord Iroh_

Sokka sat there for a minute. And cried for Iroh, for the first time since his death. No man believed in him more, no man trusted him more. And deep down inside he knew, he was ready to become the man Iroh thought he was.

-

-

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Author's Notes-

Please feel free to Review! There was no reviews for the last chapter and it made me sad. (okay, not really, but I do enjoy feedback so feel free.)

The story is a continuation, but also a retelling of the Avatar story. A general rule of thumb while reading would be to assume nothing's the same. Only the details of what I give are what is important and what happened. Everything else from the show may have happened, but there is no guarantee.

I understand the geography in this chapter is probably pretty confusing and hard to follow. I used the map on the avatar wikia as a reference for the rough geography. I apologise if it is still not clear. I will try to be more precise in future chapters. I understand I am a little too vague at times.

The characters of Ashitan and Atanar are both characters I created. I will try not to use many original characters, but in certain circumstances I believe new characters must be made for the story to make sense. Mostly characters with political positions will be created, for there are few in the show. Atanar was created specifically for the need of a water bender, if anyone remembers a young talented water bender from the show, I may instead use them.

I do not edit my work very much. I only write for fun when I'm bored, and am not very interested in trying to find every small mistake. That is why there are some pretty obvious spelling mistakes and things. If someone would like to be a proof reader, feel free to ask. Otherwise you're just going to have to live with it.

If you have any questions, I will address them in the next Author's Notes.


	4. Changes and Relations and Planning

Chapter 4- Changes and Relations and Planning

When Sokka returned from Iroh's office to the party still in process, there were many cheers of jubilation. Sokka heart sank a little, for he knew instantly what had occurred in his absence. Zuko had proposed to Katara. He had probably been waiting for the opportunity. Without Sokka there, he would have felt less constrained. It still hurt Sokka knowing Zuko didn't want Sokka to share that experience. But he understood as a state's man, that the political life, his life, was different from normal. And he would have to accept it.

Katara's face was empty. She had been expecting this, or at least Sokka thought she wasn't prepared to handle it. Zuko too, would have probably looked over his head too, if he allowed it. The Fire Lord was never to have a moment of weakness though, so his face was Stoic. The sharp lines were accented across him face, as they fought to move. It was a sad sight really, but at the same time it was quite the opposite. The changes had started.

The rest of the night Sokka hadn't time to talk with either of them. They were surrounded at all sides, and at all times by different people congratulating them. Eventually he just accepted leaning against the wall with Atanar, both of them smoking their pipes. It was a little piece of home in this foreign affair, that was closer than either of them were willing to admit.

When it came time to sleep Sokka realised he didn't really have a bed any where. Zuko no longer lived in the second royal house, now that he lived in the castle. There were probably other people who lived there, Sokka never did check though. He found himself wandering back to Iroh's office, the alcohol having disrupted his balance made him stagger the whole way. There he stripped out of his clothes, and laid on top of them. He used the Grand Lotus robe Iroh had left him as a pillow. It was the strangest night.

The next day Zuko personally woke him up. Zuko had tried looking for him throughout the castle, but eventually had figured this was where Sokka had probably ended up. Sokka's head ached, and his stomach turned. It was not the best condition to confront Zuko in, but he didn't have a choice really.

Sokka told him about Iroh's letter and how he now ran the White Lotus. Zuko frowned when he found out, as if Iroh had personally insulted him by not giving him the honours instead. It was forgotten quickly, as Zuko apologised for proposing to Katara while he was not there. He gave an excuse that most of the other important figures were about to leave, so he had to do it then. While Sokka understood the excuse, it was still bullshit, and Sokka didn't like being lied to. But there was more, Zuko had wanted to tell Sokka the night before.

Zuko offered Sokka the position as head advisor to the Fire Lord. This was something special, for many reasons. It would be the first time a foreigner had the responsibility. The position was also usually used for old rich men who were no longer strong enough to work. Iroh had intended Sokka to become an advisor of Zuko's, but probably not the head position, and even probably not for a few years. Zukko was in a sense, giving Sokka the largest compliment and expression of trust he could.

Taking out his pipe, Sokka agreed, but did not mention whether he thought it was a good idea or not. Zuko, having finished what he had come to do, left soon afterwards. Sokka stood alone in the office for a couple of minutes. The place was a mess, there were papers and scrolls everywhere. He sat down on the ground, grabbed the book _The Lotus, _Iroh had left him. He turned the first page slowly and started to read.

Over the next couple of weeks Sokka rarely left the office. He tried to study as much of Iroh's writing as he could. Mixed in the papers he found other books Iroh had written, one was a book on botany entitled _Blooms. _By stacking papers lying on the ground and putting them into a logical order another of Iroh's books was found entitled _Zuko_. It appeared to be an unfinished manual on how to be a good politician and leader, written specifically for Zuko. The third book was found in the desk; it was of rough paper bound by leather. It appeared to have been a journal of his and Zuko's life in exile.

Eventually Sokka showed Zuko all of the books, except _The Lotus. _Zuko deciding his uncle's beliefs should be common knowledge, published the three books. They quickly became popular throughout the Nation. Most commonly, the journal of the travels, which Zuko ended up naming _Travels_, sold every single copy they had sold. This was the introduction of most people to Aang. Zuko had edited the book so that Aang was seen as a hero, and that Iroh and Zuko had helped him more than they actually did. Soon Zuko was building statues of Aang throughout the nation, at the people's request.

The wedding planning had gone on mostly without Sokka present. Atanar became Sokka's personal helper during this time, going through the notes of Iroh.

_The Lotus _described how in the White Lotus there were supposed to be twenty members. There also needed to be one bender of each different element. Iroh's Lotus had always been 19, because he could never find an airbender. After the White Lotus Revolution, four of the members had been killed, and Sokka had been the only one let into their ranks since that time. Pakku and Iroh were now dead though, which brought the total amount down to 14. Sokka decided to let Atanar become his first appointment to the White Lotus, for they needed a Water Bender, and he was not about to ask Katara about it at this point in time.

He came to visit Piandao in the prison numerous times. Piandao was not only his former master, but was also a member of the White Lotus and the former head advisor to the Fire Lord. It was always a sad time when Sokka was shown his cell. Sokka, who had been in a Fire Nation cell himself, knew what it felt like. Piandao was far stronger than him though, and never showed himself as anything other than a poised, ready individual. The man also fully respected Sokka's authority as Grand Lotus, answering every question Sokka posed.

The wedding was coming up. Hakoda came up from the Southern Tribe with a ship full of people. Gran Gran did not come, for she was ill. An entire delegate from the Northern Tribe came to honour the Fire Lord. King Bumi, and King Mher, who were both members of the White Lotus and kings of city states in the south of the Earth Kingdom came as well. Thousands across the Nation came to witness the celebration, all of the Lords were present.

In total around six White Lotus members arrived, including Sokka, Atanar, and Piandao, there were about nine of the fifteen. They all greeted Sokka, and seemed not to mind his new position of Grand Lotus. There was little time to specifically discuss the matters of Lotus, but they decided they would all schedule an important meeting soon to deal with it.

Toph came on one of the boats three days before the wedding. Katara was there to greet her, but no one else was. The two of them went to see Zuko, who greeted her with open arms, expressing glee that they were all reunited.

She found Sokka walking through one of the royal gardens.

-

The flowers glowed a soft red, intertwined with a greyish hue that wrapped itself around the borders. A sweet scent escaped its bloom, drifting around aimlessly, waiting for someone to smell. Sokka did not know the name of the flower, perhaps Iroh would have known it. It was always peculiar to remember Iroh, for he was such a different person at different times. The strong leader of the nation seemed unlike the man who loved flowers and tea. His delicate side was strong, but also he knew there were times and places for other sides of a man. Sokka wished he understood the world as well as he did.

Toph crept up behind Sokka. She was probably using his heart beat as a guide. There was a quiet understanding of physicality between them this way. It was to experience what Sokka felt before he was affected by her. It was also to have a barring on how exactly it also changed.

It was tough to navigate between the plants in the garden as they often grew wherever they seemed fit. The stone path Toph was lightly brushing with the soles of her feet was winding and lost itself. She was merely a passenger on its exercise of purpose. A purpose it tried, in a vain attempt to accomplish. It was in part luck that there was a steam engine beside the garden that made the ground vibrate ever so subtley not to disrupt her sight, but rather enhance it.

"Sokka," she finally let slip out of her lips. His heart beat quickened, he had not noticed her. Sokka turned around from his position to grasp sight of his former companion. Toph wore a great long green robe, with stones lining the cuffs. Her hair was the same as it always was, and it accented her eyes as it did the years before. The white pupils reflected the light around them and sparkled slightly in the glare.

Sokka moved towards her with his arms extended. 'Toph! You look great!" he called as he approached. Tightly he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, clasping his fingers onto each other across her back. She had grown from the small girl when they had first found her. But she still was a good head or two shorter than Sokka.

Toph's face turned a little red in his arms. She informed Sokka "thanks, I guess, I can't really tell what I look like remember?"

"Oh shit, forgot," Sokka responded, letting go of her quickly. "How has the Earth Kingdom been? It's been what, a year and a half?" He asked, wondering whether her life has had any of the hardships he had to face over that time. It wasn't that he wanted to have them though, but rather that he didn't want her to have any. She had left this life, his life, she should hopefully have not had to suffer for it. For she would have, had she stayed.

"It's been a long time, it's true. And tough. I finally reached Master rank, as I'm sure you've heard." Sokka had in fact not heard that specifically, but decided to pretend he did anyway. Who would have known and not told him? "But I've had to travel in secrecy since then. It made me a target for the tyrants. The different Grandmasters have been letting me stay at their homes, but I've not had free travel for a while. But it's not bad, I've been getting better at bending I guess. I just wish I could possibly become a Grandmaster, I mean, I'm good enough, or will soon be. But the tyrants will just veto it, and probably put me in jail."

It would have helped Sokka if he had been paying attention. Instead he found himself looked at the rumples of her clothes, how unkept they seemed. He had been used to living with the highest of society who would never dream of such imperfection. It would have driven some insane, yet Toph didn't mind it, she was probably more comfortable in that than she would have been otherwise. She grew up in such a proper society, that all she knew was the evils of it.

"Toph," Sokka softly spoke under his breath. He redirected his eyes back onto the plants. When he spoke these words he didn't want to look her in the eyes. She understood, and let go of his body. The separation of air felt like lead building between them. An iron curtain, impenetrable with conventional means. "Why," Sokka paused trying to figure out his words. "What happened between us? Why did you leave me like that?"

There was little surprise in that question. They had spent a year in each other's beds, yet haven't seen one another in the last two and a half years for more than two months. And they were still both lonely. "Well," Toph too stopped herself, trying to work out her thoughts. "It's because I used you, and fuck, you probably used me." She sat down on the stone path, that no longer lead her, but rather supported her. "You know how it was, all of that shit."  
"I, I missed Aang. He was the first person I had ever been close to, the first person I let touch me. Our training, it felt like I was connecting with him. I don't know how I fell for him, since Katara was obviously smitten as well, but I was too, even without wanting it."

"But, I was trapped. I couldn't act on it without hurting Katara, so I just let it exist in my head. After the eclipse though, when I found out you guys got out alive, I was so happy. I couldn't wait to meet up with you again, to meet up with Aang. But then he died, I never even really got a chance to talk with him."

"And, I was angry. I was fucking angry at Katara. Why?" She hung her head in her arms. Sokka walked over to her and sat by her side. "I was angry she got to mourn him and I didn't. I was angry she got to be with him alone for all that time before the revolution. I was angry cause she was with him when he died and let it happen. I was angry he loved her and not me!" Toph started to cry. "Katara! She's the nicest person I've ever met! She's been better to me than anyone, yet I hated her."

Sokka frowned slightly, but he put his arm around her shoulder. Accepting this support Toph grabbed onto his shirt, lightly tugging. She wrapped herself into a ball in his arms. "We went on that trip right after Iroh's speech, I couldn't stand to be near her. But I hated myself because I couldn't be and I was just making the both of us hurt more. So when we got back, I saw you were hurting, and decided to use it."

"When we went to the Southern Tribe, it was the first time I really talked to her in the longest time, and well, the hate started to subside. We became friends again, and well, the reason for us, it went away. I got better, and I didn't need you," Toph finished, but stayed in Sokka's arms, lacking the will to move away from the comfort she felt.

Sokka didn't want to move either but he changed his eye line. He looked back at the flower, with the red lightly painted across it. How it could understand being alone, while with someone. "I guess we're really over then" he asked, reaching one of his arms towards the plant. Grabbing it at the stem he broke off the flower, brought it down to Toph and put it into her hands.

Toph felt the flower between her fingers. "Were we really ever anything to be over with?" She brought the flower to her face and inhaled its sweet smelling odour. "Seems like a really lonely flower."

-

They didn't see each other for the next few days, with Toph helping specifically Katara with getting ready for the wedding. Sokka was busy generally with state matters, seeing as Zuko was too busy to handle all of his usual responsibilities.

On the day of the wedding, there was a great festival in the capital. Around noon the ceremony started, on the top of the city square, with thousands watching. Sokka stood by Zuko's side, and Toph stood next to Zuko, it was a surreal event. Sokka remembered the two years, Katara, Aang and him had traveled by themselves around the world. How different their lives were now.

After the ceremony they entered the palace, and in the royal dining quarters had a feast larger than Sokka had ever seen. They were dancers and a band playing for most of the night. Wine was served throughout, Sokka found himself in a constant state of drunkenness.

Then when the sun went down, Zuko and Katara started to dance together, alone on the dance floor. They were beautiful in their movements, the rhythm seemingly flowing through them.

Sokka found himself saddened by it at the same time though. Soon he found himself drinking as much as he could. It felt better the less he felt, and more distant he started to become. Hakoda and the rest of the Water Tribe men present there came up to him. There the delegate from the Northern Tribe asked him if he would like to become the new Chief of the Tribe. He sat there, silent, smoke rising from the pipe in his mouth. It wasn't the state he wished to be in to give a response, but he declined, saying he already had too much responsibility, and didn't think himself ready to rule. They could find someone who was better suited.

When the Tribe's men left his side, he found himself drinking with Toph. It just like old times when they used to drink at the docks. Though, Toph was no longer the fifteen year old girl she had been when she had her first drink with him. She was taller, her body filled, her flat breasts grown. She was a woman, no longer the little scared girl.

The two of them walked to Sokka's room together. Sokka laid down on his bed, arms out stretched, staring at her. She lightly stripped the clothes off of her skin. There she was at the foot of the bed, nude, beautiful, illuminated by the moon's light. She just stood there for a moment, as Sokka absorbed her body. Soon she crawled into the bed and they started to explore each other's bodies with their hands. Toph's skin was soft, and her moans sweet.

They woke up the next morning in each other's arms. The ecstasy of the night before was gone, the eroticism lacking. Sokka nudged himself from her grasp and got dressed. Trying to make as little noise as he could, he snuck out of the room. His head felt as if a hammer were hitting it ever so often in an non-rhythmic pattern. It drove him insane, everything drove him insane.

Neither of the two of them spoke to the other before Toph left for the Kingdom. Right before she was to leave Sokka came to her, and they hugged lightly, and told each other to stay healthy. All of the different guests started to slowly leave back to their homes. Hakoda seemed sad when he had to leave, and asked Sokka to promise to come visit soon. Even though he knew he probably wasn't going to have an opportunity to do such, he did.

Zuko and Sokka sat down to formalise their schedules and to figure out how they were going to do their jobs. The had not had a real opportunity to do such before hand. Sokka was officially given the second royal house, the one the four of them had lived in while Iroh was Fire Lord. He took up board in his old room, and it seemed as if nothing had really changed.

The next few weeks started to turn into a routine. Sokka spent much of his week at the castle either by Zuko's side, or in Iroh's old office studying the books in it. Due to his high position in the government he could no longer go to drink at the harbours. Instead he found himself alone in his large house, where he would practice sword play completely nude. It was lonely, but it let him focus on his training.

Katara and Atanar started their lessons once more. They initially did it at the docks, in front of the harbour. The would go waste deep into the water to truly feel what water was like. Zuko soon put a stop to this, for it was making a spectacle of them. The wife of the Fire Lord was to be respected, not something of a novelty. Katar was furious at this, yelling how Zuko did not have a right to tell her what exactly she could do or not. Eventually Zuko let Katara train him, if she did it at one of the vacation homes on a beach that was owned by the royal family.

Rumours started to surface, that Katara and Atanar were more than master and pupil. Even after Atanar left months later and other students came, the same accusations would be made. It was in a sense a deep racism the people of the Fire Nation had of people from the Tribes. They were dirty, and had no class. The raunchiness of them started to irritate Zuko to no end. He even considered making it a crime to say anything negative of Katara. Sokka talked him out of it though, just describing that it would be an inefficient use of resources.

The rumours were not entirely false though. Years later Atanar admited to the affair the two of them had while at the vacation home. Katara was so angry at Zuko for refusing to let her teach, she wanted to hurt him back. She wanted to make it clear: he loved her more than she loved him. Atanar admitted he didn't know about the other later pupils, but thought it was unlikely. Katara probably achieved what she wished with just him.

While this was going on, the Earth Kingdom captured and arrested all of the Fire Nation ships who were at its docks. They wanted to cut off the Nation's ability to affect what was going on in the Kingdom, by cutting off all trade.

After Iroh had given Earth Kingdom sovereignty back to King Kuei, a group of twenty Fire Nation Generals and members of the Dai Li who had been running the country under the Fire Nation decided they wished to take over the country by themselves. Kuei was arrested as soon as he came out of hiding, and the country came into their control.

They were soon known as the 20 Tyrants. Most of the different sectors of their economy came under their control, by forcefully arresting and executing the rich business men. Around ten of them were known to stay in Ba Singe Se, while the other ten used their great wealth to build great castles all across the kingdom. The ten away from the capital ruled the surrounding area with great private armies they were able to purchase, and generally took large taxes from the poor to increase their own personal wealth.

It had confused Sokka and Zuko when they had arrested the ships. They had purposefully ignored the affairs of the Kingdom, to get rid of the view of the Nation as conquers. There was little chance the Nation would invade, so it seemed silly for the tyrants to pre-empt the Nation by arresting their ships.

Eventually it became clear this was not their goal. The Kingdom had captured the ships of the Nation and made it illegal for the Nation to trade in the Kingdom, because then the Nation couldn't see what the Kingdom was planning. They were in fact, expecting the Nation wouldn't retaliate if the Kingdom attacked. But, if the ships had remained in the ports they would have seen the armies amassing, and would have warned who they were going to attack.

The Kingdom started a campaign to conquer all of the outlying city states. There were about ten of them, but they apparently fell in succession. Sokka and the rest of the Nation only heard about it much later. The Tyrants had apparently cut off most of the state' communication, and using Earth Bending, had bombarded their cities for days, before finally bursting through their walls.

Two of the members of the White Lotus were kings of two of the City States. The last of the city states to be conquered, was one with great historical importance to the Fire Nation. It could easily have been seen as an act of war. For four days Zuko, Sokka, all of the generals, a couple of Lords whose land was close to the Kingdom, and the other advisors discussed what to do about the situation. Eventually it was decided they would enhance their defences, and create a blockade between the Nation and the Kingdom.

It wasn't long before King Mher came to the ports of the Capital. He was one of the sovereigns of one of the Earth City states, and was also a member of the White Lotus. Apparently King Bumi had been executed, after being captured, because of his involvement with the White Lotus. Mher had escaped his city right before they took it, to come to the Nation.  
They needed to do another White Lotus revolution.

Soon, the other three members of the White Lotus from the Earth Kingdom came to the capital: Jung, City, and Dorm the wanderer. Each one of them had fled, fearing they would be prosecuted if they were to stay. Toph came soon as well, she also felt it was unsafe to stay in the Kingdom.

Sokka appointed Toph to the Order, to take Bumi's place. Then he did a very controversial move, he resigned as the head advisor to the Fire Lord. Officially, he claimed he was just not experienced enough to properly guide the Fire Lord. But, in reality he was quitting to focus on matters of the White Lotus. He had been advisor for an entire year. Zuko accepted his resignation with a frown. He had always dreamed the two would rule the country for the rest of their lives, but the situation had changed. Zuko never really forgave Sokka for his decision.

The second royal house became the house of all of the White Lotus members in exile. There, they started to plan the second White Lotus revolution. The planning took six months, and at the end all of the members of the Lotus were ready to once more, make the world a better place.

-

Metis and Sokka sat around the fire in the cabin. It was a couple of weeks after Metis had first come. His hands were now calloused and sore. The hair on his head had grown a few inches, and now covered the front of his forehead. Few complaints of the cold came from him now that he was getting used to it. It seemed less like a beast to be fought, but more a strain that must be harmonised with. No matter how much one wished, the force was not going away.

It was the first time Sokka had given Metis the responsibility to heat up the stew after the training. Determination was written all over his face. This was another task he was going to try his hardest not to fail.

As a consequence of this, Sokka found himself with little to do. It hit him eventually that he knew relatively little about the life of his student. Trying to remedy the situation, he asked "Metis, tell me about your past. You always ask me about the legend of my life, well, what's the legend of your life?"

"My life would have to be interesting for there to be a legend about it," Metis responded trying not to take his eyes off of the pot. The stew needed to just be heated, but the flavour came out more if certain herbs were put into it at different times. Metis had seen Sokka do it, and wanted to show off that he had been paying attention even then.

Sokka took out his pipe and started to put tobacco into it. "Irregardless, tell me about your past," Sokka continued, putting the pipe in his mouth. He used a match to light the end of it, and inhaled slowly, letting the tabacco fulling burn. To be honest, Sokka was impressed by Metis, how he had noticed the herbs were to be put in at different precise intervals. Since one made a large pot of stew, and ate out of it for numerous days, when the pot started to get old, the flavours would sour. To combat this, savoury herbs were added at the beginning of the heating up, but also at the end so that the flavour from those leafs were still fresh and apparent if you had some in a portion.

The ladle in Metis' hand was placed down on the ground and directed his gaze towards Sokka. "I'll tell you my past on one condition." He smiled. "You have to tell me about the papers on your desk you refuse to let me see."

Sokka frowned, he hadn't expected that kind of a response. It was smart though, in a sense Sokka was kind of impressed Metis knew to use the few resources Sokka gave him to his own advantage. He was a quick thinker, something important but potentially hazardous. "Okay, it's a deal," Sokka decided. He was going to let Metis win this time.

Metis smiled deeper, and picked up the ladle again. He started to stir the stew and began his short tale. "Well I was the son of a wealthy merchant. The Fire Nation conquered when I was 5, I don't remember much before that time. We lived on the East Coast, in a sunken village in the bottom of a valley. My father owned the local mines around there, but liked the village. Our house like a castle in a swamp, it did not fit in."

"When the Tyrants took hold, Gogan, one of the ones from the Fire Nation, decided to own all of the mines on the east coast. But we were lucky. We were so far away from the mines, we were able to quietly sneak away in the night with all of our fortune still with us. We moved west, towards the Hilden mountains. There we were able to buy a small house in one of the summit villages. It was tough to live there, but we made due. The air was thin, and hard to breath, but we got used to it. Winter was long, though not nearly as cold as it is here. We stayed there until after the White Lotus Revolution, when we would no longer be prosecuted. With the last of our money we bought an inn in the local city and within six months it was the busiest one in there."

"My father decided he wanted me to be taught how to defend myself in case I would have to run away again. So he sent me to Songshan to be taught under Grandmaster Toph. She was well known because of her young age and participation with the revolution. Her connection with you had caused few people to want to train under her, so my father could afford the cost of my board. My father didn't mind her connection, you had saved us from the Tyrants, it didn't matter if you killed the king."

"After a year and a half there I was still incapable of earthbending. They taught me other forms of fighting to help me with my shame, but I could not return to my family a failure. It was then Toph told me to seek you out, and that with your help, I could become far more powerful than a bender."

Sokka smiled, it was nice to hear such praise. "You are a man who has went through a lot in your life, I wish I could tell you it becomes easier."

"I know it doesn't, but I'm willing to face it. I'm ready to prove how strong I am." Metis tasted some of the soup and hid the disgust in his face. The soup was harder to perfect than he thought. Sokka, who had noticed this, chuckled loudly. "Now master, lets hear your side of the bargain. I've seen you read at that desk as I sleep, what are you doing?"

Sokka's chuckles subsided to a serious tone. "Well, on that table are the original sheets of _Travels _and _Zuko_, without the editing from the Fire Lord. I've been trying to understand exactly what Iroh was trying to say by those works." He took a bowl of the stew for himself. "The other papers are documents I've written about politics, and on how to properly criticise a play. None of it's too important."

"What about the sheets on Airbending?"

Sokka frowned. "There are no sheets on airbending, you must be mistaken," he answered in a firm tone. He brought the bowl of stew to his lips and drank down a bowl full. After swallowing he emptied the contents of his bowl back into the stew pot. "Congratulations Metis, your stew tastes like piss."

They both laughed.

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Author's Notes-

Please feel free to Review!

Thank you for the nice comments all who reviewed! It's nice to hear you think the story is good.

Toph the Trickster - The story will be 7 chapters long when it is completed. Meaning that it is now over half way done.

I-love-random-internet-stories - I understand your concerns. It always kind of sucks when a story has a pairing you don't like. Back when I read the occaisional fanfiction a story I used to like a story based more on the pairings than by how well written it was. Which is silly, but it happens none the less. I will say though, that I did not kill those characters for the sole reason of that pairing. The entire story is based on the idea of Troy, and what would happen if the hero character is killed. What do all of the other characters do if Aang, their savior is gone and they have to deal with the consequences? Mai's death was more to show that while Zuko was a bad guy for chasing Aang, Sokka and Katara, that the three of them made mistakes too. They were not purely 'good' guys.

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Story Notes-

The story is a continuation, but also a retelling of the Avatar story. A general rule of thumb while reading would be to assume nothing's the same. Only the details of what I give are what is important and what happened. Everything else from the show may have happened, but there is no guarantee.

The geography of the Earth Kingdom here is a little made up and possibly confusing, but I think it is clear enough for the story. If you find it is a major issue, feel free to say so in a review.

The characters of Khmer, City, Dorm the Wanderer and Atanar are both characters I created. I will try not to use many original characters, but in certain circumstances I believe new characters must be made for the story to make sense. Khmer, City and Dorm the Wanderer were created because of my enlarging the White Lotus. Couldn't really get around that.

I do not edit my work very much. I only write for fun when I'm bored, and am not very interested in trying to find every small mistake. That is why there are some pretty obvious spelling mistakes and things. If someone would like to be a proof reader, feel free to ask. Otherwise you're just going to have to live with it.

If you have any questions, I will address them in the next Author's Notes.


	5. Soldiers of the World

Chapter 5- The Soldiers of the World

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During the six months of planning involved with the next revolution, Sokka started to employ a small army of mercenaries. Their jobs were to go into the Kingdom and to disrupt the Tyrants' rule. They were to do things such as collapsing a mine at night when no one was in it. Once the rule was disrupt, they were to come to the centre of the town and try to convince the people to fight against the oppressive rule. Then if they were successful, they would return and inform Sokka of the changing attitudes. They were going to need a large amount of people to aid them if they were to attack the Kingdom.

At the end of the six months, around half of the mercenaries had yet to return, but it was still a better success rate than Sokka had expected. Most of the towns around Ba Singe Se were reached and seemed to agree that they would rebel if someone was to attack the rule of the Tyrants.

They originally planned to attack in a year or two, but then they received an important piece of intelligence. Most of the army of the Kingdom were going to travel to the southern most tip, to help crack down on a small group of revolutionaries who had killed the son of one of the Tyrants. The tyrants wanted to show these sorts of actions were unacceptable, and were going to be met with an extreme crack down.

With this knowledge, Sokka and the rest of the Lotus decided they were going to attack when the army had reached the South. When the army reached the southern tip, it would take them a couple weeks to march to Ba Singe Se. This would hopefully give the Lotus enough time to lay siege to Ba Singe Se by cutting off their access to trade or food. They would also be able to contact, and formalise any help from the surrounding towns.

Sokka visited Zuko often, and told him what the Lotus was planning. Zuko gave them help indirectly but refused to become completely involved in case they failed. Otherwise it would give the Kingdom an excuse to invade the Nation, and the last thing Zuko wished for was another war. This was going to have to be the Lotus' war, not the Fire Nation's.

After much debate, Sokka was finally able to convince Zuko to let Piandao out of prison. Piandao would be formally exiled from the Fire Nation, and would be executed if he was to ever step foot on the land again. Piandao himself was not pleased by this, for he had wished to always serve his native land, but was willing to accept it for he knew he was needed with the rest of the Lotus on the battlefield.

When the day finally came, six months after planning, the entire Lotus boarded ships purchased from the Fire Nation at a discount. The three members who were also Lords of territories in the Fire Nation, gave their power temporarily to their second in commands. A private army totalling over a thousand sailed that day, towards Ba Singe Se.

They did not actually land directly at the city though. Their first drop off was at a small cove for most of the men to get off. Sokka was to stay on the ships, as they sailed off to start the blockade of the harbour of Ba Singe Se. The men who were dropped on the shore were to visit numerous specific towns, and by using the volunteers from the village, they were to disrupt the city's access to places around it. Therefore they would have to find a way to live off of the food stored in the town.

Once both of these missions were complete, Sokka joined the main force on the ground. With the volunteers from the Kingdom, they were a force of around five thousand. This was not going to be enough to take on the Earth Kingdom's army, who numbered closer to twenty thousand. Apparently more people were coming, such as the Kyoshi warriors, Haru, men from the swamp Tribe and most of the Earthbending Masters Toph knew. Even with the increased amount, it was looking doubtful they were going to be strong enough to defeat the Kingdom's army.

Sokka decided they were going to have to ask Zuko for help. He grabbed a ship and its crew, and they sailed to the capital. He would have liked to stay to build defences against the army, but he knew the only person who had any chance of convincing Zuko was himself.

When he arrived at the capital he started to regret his decision. If he was able to convince Zuko to give them a large force, it would take far too long to assemble them. Sokka needed a force ready to leave the capital within two days of arriving, if they were going to be able to get back to Ba Singe Se to help the rest of the force.

He was given an official audience with the Fire Lord once he arrived. Zuko spoke to him as if they had no previous relationship. He told Sokka that he had heard about the Lotus' actions in the Kingdom, and that he was saddened some of his Lords had decided to join the Lotus' efforts. To him, war did not help anything, and by attacking the tyrants they were merely continuing its existence. The Nation believed in the mutual existence, and thus could not support their efforts.

It was all bullshit, but was necessary. Zuko had to keep his hands clean, no matter what the situation was. Sokka understood it, but hated the system that had created this situation. It was also in a sense, Zuko enacting his revenge upon Sokka for quitting his position. If Sokka no longer wished to rule along side Zuko, than Zuko was going to take the official stance and not make any concessions to him. It sucked, but was not unexpected. Sokka did deserve it in a sense.

Trying not to spare any time, Sokka left the Nation as soon as the audience was over. He did not even spend any time to visit Katara. They was little time before the main Earth Kingdom army was to engage with the Lotus' force, Sokka needed to be there when it happened. Even after leaving the Nation as soon as he arrived there was no guarantee he would make it back in time.

He luck continued to sour, as the weather turned rough on their way back. Most of the trip was through rough waters, battering against the sides of ship. Sokka had little sleep, and his men had even less. His eyes were heavy on his face, but his determination was unwavered.

They arrived south of Ba Singe Se at a small fishing village. Piandao and a small group of men from the Lotus' force were there to meet them. Sokka asked Piandao what the situation was. The reinforcements had arrived, Haru bringing close to a thousand men from the south-east, far more than he was expected. The Kyoshi warriors had come, but were a small force, and fewer Earthbending Masters had come, but the ones who had had brought their entire dojos and all their students, as well as numerous people from their villages. With these new numbers, and the defences they had been building in expectation of the force, Piandao believed they had a good chance they may defeat the army.

Before they were to leave to join the army, a scout entered the town. The young man had little breath, and appeared to have been running for a long time. It was bad news. The Bender Corps had spilt from the main army. They were going to flank the Lotus' force. If they were able to come close enough to force, then it would be a disaster for the Lotus.

The Bender Corps was the bending division of the Earth Kingdom Army. They were known as the Stone Fist of the Kingdom, which made them the most feared and well known part of the army. The Bender Corps used to be exclusively Earth Benders, but after most of the Fire Nation army who had conquered the Kingdom had stayed, there were now Fire Benders in it as well. In total they numbered around four hundred. It had said they were able to conquer an entire city by themselves. They were the group who, as well as the Dai Lee, Azula had convinced to turn against the king. She would probably not taken Ba Singe Se without their help.

The scout who had found out about the Bender Corps leaving the main force had been coming to the town to tell Sokka and Piandao about where to meet the main force. He had just came across the information by accident along the way when he met a scout from the other army. It would have taken him too much time to run back to the main force, so they knew nothing about it. It was going to be their responsibility to try and stop the Corps.

It was going to be a suicide mission if they did it. Sokka knew this, Piandao knew this, they all did to a certain extent. If they were to engage with the Bender Corps, they were going to try to distract them long enough for one of their own scouts to reach the main army and tell them of the flank. For them to be willing to do this, they were going to have to accept their deaths.

After they had found out the information Piandao begged Sokka to not try and engage the corps. He could lead a force himself, Sokka could stay in the town. Sokka was too important to die. Piandao was already a lost man, with no home to return to. It didn't matter to him, death was not something to fear.

Sokka thought for a moment, and remembered the time when he was tortured in the Fire Nation. It had been the only time he had ever accepted death, and he had promised he'd never do it again. But, then he remembered Toph, and his friends. How they were in danger if he did not go. Could he live with himself if he stayed behind, only for the mission to be a failure? Could he live with himself if he did nothing to try and stop them? Then he remembered Aang, and how Aang would have never stayed behind if that meant putting the lives of thousands in danger. Sokka missed Aang more than he was willing to admit, and he also made a promise when Aang was killed. He was never going forget the lessons Aang taught him, he was never going to forget what his friend tried to do for the world, he was never, ever, going to forget Aang's big heart.

It was decided then, they were both, Sokka and Piandao, going to try to intercept the force. Quickly they tried to amass a force as large as they could. They conscripted the entire crew of Sokka's ship, the entire group Piandao had come to the village with, all of the sailors who were at the docks at the time, and all of the males of the village. In total they were about two hundred, and none of them were benders. They were not going to be able to do much with such a small number. The Bender Corps were only four hundred, but they were strong enough to be their own army.

There wasn't enough time to find more people, they had to leave. They ran at a light pace through the forest, never stopping. Sokka remembered his thoughts while they ran. He thought of Zuko and Katara, and how he hoped they were happy. He thought of Toph. When she had returned to the Nation after escaping prosecution from the Tyrants, she had started to live once more in the royal house two, just like before. They talked little outside of plans for the invasion, Sokka's time was almost completely sucked up by it. He wished then that he had spent more time with her. He hoped that his group's sacrifice would not go to waste. He hoped she would live past the war in the Kingdom, become a Grandmaster, and become the person she wished she would be.

For two days the group moved at a swift pace, never stopping for a break. They had no idea how close or how far the force was, all they knew was that they needed to intercept them as soon as possible. Sokka remembered the Melting of the Northern Tribe, and how Iroh's ships were supposed to intercept Ashitan's force. He knew full well the pain of failure, of what would happen if they failed to stop the Bender Corps.

Finally in the middle of the night they found the Bender Corps' camp. Luck was on their side that they were able to find the camp without first being spotted by one of the sentrys. The group hit in the forest, and moved into position.

While they had been travelling Piandao and Sokka had discussed what their plan was going to be. Once they had found the camp, a group of ten were to keep moving around to try and reach the main Lotus army and tell them of the impending ambush. A group of fifty were to escort them around the force, but once they came to the other side, that force was to quietly sneak into the enemy camp and kill as many as they could without setting off the alarm. Eventually the alarm would be called, at which point the fifty were to run to the edge of the camp and make as much noise and disturbance as possible. While the fifty were acting loud, the other one hundred and fifty were to ambush from the opposite side , hopefully attacking unnoticed.

It was essential for the distraction group to stomp their feet as hard as they could, for these were Earth Benders they were dealing with, they were going to use vibrations to help them see. There was no telling how successful the plan would become, since they were dealing with benders. The point was to move as often as possible, limiting the benders' ability to target them. Since they were going to be in a camp with a couple hundred of them, the earth benders were unlikely to randomly through large boulders, unless they were certain they were going to hit what they were aiming at.

Piandao volunteered himself to lead the distraction group, and split with his fifty men soon after they had found the camp. It was going to take a while for his force to move to position. Sokka's breath became heavy, his eyes were wide and wild. They had been running for a long time but he felt energy running through his blood.

After a while Sokka started to fear Piandao had been caught, but he had not heard an alarm so it was unlikely. Maybe Piandao was successfully stealthy, and was killing them without anyone noticing long enough to ring the alarm. Sokka finally became impatient and ordered his men to advance.

They slowly walked down the hill, under their blanket darkness. There were no guards on watch, Sokka had no idea why. When he came across his first tent, he burst through the door, sword in hand. Within two seconds he plunged it into the neck of a soldier who was sleeping. The other one who was sharing the tent woke up slowly, but before he knew what was happening Sokka drove the sword through his mouth and out the back of his head. Sokka sat there was a couple of seconds, covered in blood.

It was then he heard the alarm. He slowly left the tent to hear large bells ring. Everyone was rushing out of their tents and running towards the loud noise. Sokka stood there, alone, staring at the people moving. It reminded him of the Melting of the Northern Tribe, and when he had left his boat. Gathering his thoughts, he reassembled most of his force who weren't fighting there, and they moved into position to flank.

As they came closer to where the distraction force were fighting, Sokka's speed increased. By the end of it, he was in a full sprint, his men doing the same. He didn't realise it, but he was yelling at the top of his lungs.

The first person he reached had turned around to see them, but they were moving so fast he had no time to through any sort of rock. Sokka drove his sword right through the man's chest. It was at this moment he was thrown into the air by a rock pillar that had come out of the ground. He flew twenty feet into the air, in the direction of the distraction group. He hit the ground hard on his shoulder, but he decided not to care about it. Within a second he was standing on his feet composed.

It was then he noticed Piandao. Piandao's hair was down, his red clothes were stained with the blood of his wounds. His left arm was bleeding excessively, the left side of his face was burnt black. He looked like a mad man, and fought harder than anything Sokka had ever seen before. It didn't matter what rocks or fire they through at him, he never staggered. His feet stayed firm on the ground. Piandao had positioned himself between the Corps and the men he had led there. Of the fifty there only appeared to be around ten left. Piandao was not going to let anyone else die under his command. He may never had admitted it for his honour was too great, but Iroh's death had hurt him profoundly. And here he was now, fighting like a warrior king, a king who was finally able to do what he did best, and in the situation he understood the most.

Piandao may have been a great lord, but really, he was a master swordsman. His life was taking away others' lives. This was his world, something he hadn't done in years. This was the world he wished to die in.

Sokka quickly started to pay attention back to the battle. As if he was a new man, invigorated by Piandao's example he too became a wild man. A man of the sword. It was an extension to his own limbs. It was a simple process, you had to get in close to Earthbenders, for they generally had a firm pose, so it was hard for them to step back. It was also foolish for them to through rocks or create rock pillars at someone who was only a foot in front of them. The firebenders were tougher, but they required their arms to guide the fire, one only needed to lob them off.

It seemed as if they were all invigorated by Piandao, and in a sense Sokka as well. The enemy were tired, their rest had just been interrupted. Sokka actually started to think they may actually win the battle.

And soon enough that proved to be the correct assessment.

Though, even a wounded bender was a dangerous bender. So Sokka told his men to go through the wounded and kill every single one of them. There was not to be a single survivor of the Bender Corps.

It wasn't long before Piandao collapsed. Sokka ran to his master's side, and held Piandao's hand. It was then that Piandao said his famous last words, the words written on the statue commemorating the battle, and the words Sokka later carved into his sword. The sword Piandao had made for him. "I may die away from my home, but Sokka of Many Nations, I die a soldier of the world." It was the first time anyone referred to him as Sokka of Many Nations. Piandao had refered to him as Sokka of the White Lotus often, but this was new.

A group of two hundred had done the impossible, they had defeated the Stone Fist of the Earth Kingdom. They drank and enjoyed the night. The main Lotus force were probably going to engage with the Main Earth Kingdom Army soon, but they were too tired, and too far away to help them.

The entire night the group told tales of the battle to each other. And each one of them blessed Sokka of Many Nations, their leader, their own living legend. They seemed to really like the Many Nations part, for they were a unique force then. They were no longer a group helping the White Lotus, they were Soldiers of the World, under the man of all Nations, who were fighting for all things. It was a nice romantic position to be in. They claimed they were to be exalted and remembered for a long time, and they were right.

Sokka held his tongue about the next morning. The truth was they were going to try and reach the main force, and possibly fight the main Earth Kingdom army. If the main force was already defeated by the army, then they were marching to their deaths. His men probably wouldn't have minded though, for they were legends now, and that was the sort of thing legends did; fight to the last breath.

When they did move out the next morning the travelled at a slow pace. They had to carry their wounded, of which there was many. It took them the entire day to reach up with the main force. Large pillars of smoke rose to the sky. It seemed that during the time the Soldiers of the World and Sokka were travelling the Lotus and the Main army had fought.

Sokka told most of his men to stay back while they sent a group of ten to check to see who had won. The small group returned exalting the victory of the White Lotus. Sokka could not remember a time he felt more relieved. It was a burden weighing a couple tons off of his back.

The Kingdom's army had stormed the Lotus' defences believing the Corps to be positioned behind them ready to flank. Only, the reinforcements never came, and without their reinforcements, their strategy was a foolish one. After only a few minutes and an intense battle, the Main army had been dealt enough casualties to retreat. It was a victory, not a complete one, but it was enough.

Even the battles of the day had been victorious the war was far from over. The Seige of Ba Singe Se continued, and they continued to try and gain volunteers to help fight for their side. Soon the Soldiers of the World started to tell the tale of the Bender Corps, and how they had done the impossible. Once the story floated around, thousands of volunteers wished to join the Lotus, and joined them from all sides of the Kingdom.

There were two more large battles against the Tyrants, one was directly with the main army they had fought before. The other battle was against half of the Tyrants who were out of Ba Singe Se, their private armies, and whoever they could force to fight for them. The Lotus was victorious both times, but did face many casualties during the first battle.

After eight months the siege was successful and Ba Singe Se opened their walls. The Tyrants who were in the city were promptly stripped of their positions and executed. Kuei was let out of prison, but was not returned to his position to king. Instead Fung was established as the Dictator of the Kingdom. Without missing a beat, Kuei, the Earth Kingdom Members of the White Lotus: Fung, City, Dorm the wanderer, and many of the elites of the Kingdom came together and started to create the new Earth Kingdom Constitution. Sokka helped, but generally stayed alone in a house. Toph left to continue her goal of becoming a Grandmaster, and the Fire Nation Lords returned to their duty.

Sokka at this time made the Mechanist, and a man named Chit Sang who he had met while in prison at the Capital, members of the White Lotus. He had become a hero of sorts, with people calling his name: Sokka of Many Nations where ever he walked. Until finally he left to the Northern Air Temple, where he stayed with Teo. But he was happy, for he was victorious.

The second White Lotus Revolution was successful, and Iroh would have been proud.

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Sokka and Metis sat together on the cold ice, neither of them wearing any clothes. Metis' eyes were closed, and his face sharp, it was obvious the pain he was feeling. On the other hand Sokka sat with his eyes open and his head looking upwards. The clouds created a cotton cloth to be wrapped around him. He just only needed to think about it.

It was in its essence an unfair exercise. Sokka had been doing this since he was a small boy. Originally a game, he had wished when he was little, to be better at it than anyone else. But then, when the men left, he lost people to do it with. He would occasionally, when he was alone, lie naked, pretending he was competing against someone else. It probably seemed silly, but it gave Sokka time to think. He credited much of his quick wit to his ability to think while suffering in the worst of conditions. And he could not think of a better way to train this.

"Try not to think of the cold Metis" Sokka suggested.

"That's easy for you to say, my fucking balls are freezing off!" Metis exclaimed loudly, keeping his eyes closed. His body was starting to shake slightly, the vibrations emanating from his exterior was of a tightly orchestrated rhythm, of the design to keep warm. It was not as successful as he would have like.

Sokka laughed at his response. It was nice to hear Metis lightening up. For the first couple of weeks with him, Metis had been formal at almost all parts of the day. Sokka would try to crack a joke or two, but Metis would only stoically compliment his ability to make humorous comments. Now Metis was more comfortable, and more willing to speak his mind. It made most social interactions more pleasurable.

Feeling pity for Metis Sokka continued to try to make his experience less worse. "Think not of the snow, but of the warmth you wish for. Image flames, a strong imagine. Then, when your mind is completely engulfed in it, manifest it, bring it into reality. Spread it all over the parts that burn from the cold, and then you will be warm. You have to teach yourself that your mind is your most powerful tool. Then, when you are warm, think, think about anything. If you can think beyond this crazy situation, then you can think through all hard situations. But think clearly, gibberish and foolish ideas need not to exist ever."

Metis smiled slightly, keeping his eyes closed. "Thanks for the advice master, but I think this is too much for me. You claim this is a coming of age ritual of Tribesmen right? Maybe there's just something in your blood from all you ancestors having done this?"

"Well, I don't usually say this but, there was one person to have ever beat me at this. One person who stayed seated, far longer than I did. And that was Fire Lord Zuko. When we came to the Southern Temple to bury Aang, and Zuko was talking about how he wished to clear his head, to get Aang out of his mind. I suggested this, and he just sat there, I couldn't believe how long he lasted." Sokka said, staring back at the sky. Memories of the past slowly started to creep back into his mind.

"That's bullshit master, he's a firebender, he was probably using that to stay warm," Metis joked without any sign of joy on his face. He was obviously trying really hard to do what Sokka had suggested, but it did not appear to be working.

Sokka chuckled a little, "I thought that too. But he wasn't, he wanted to actually clear his mind, cheating would have ruined the process. Not only that, he wished to abolish the sadness from his mind, and focusing on bending would not have let him do that. Plus, Katara watched him the whole time, even though she was embarrassed about it, it's forbidden for Tribeswomen to watch, you know, for the whole naked thing." Sokka laughed at himself. It had been an awkward experience, but it was nice to have a different kind of feeling when they were all mourning. "She made sure he didn't bend, and according to her, he didn't. And when he finished, he was completely blue and white. We had to make him stop, wrapped him in as much firs as we had, and he still shivered the entire night. I almost think he was trying to kill himself, but who knows."

Metis smiled, "That's quite the story master, it must have been amazing knowing such an important person so intimately. Did he ever bring it up again?"

Sokka laughed some more, "Sure, when he was about to marry Katara. According to tribe laws, only someone who is a member of one of the Tribes can marry another person from the tribe. Zuko made the argument though, that because he had successfully done the coming of age ritual those years ago, that he had a legitimate claim to become a member of the Tribe. And Hakoda bought it. It's not a very well known fact that he's a member of the tribe, only Hakoda, myself, and Katara and Zuko probably know about it. So I guess you can count yourself in that company now."

There was probably a comment Metis wished to add, but before any words left his mouth he jumped off of the ice. Swearing loudly he grabbed the firs he had placed beside himself before the exercise had started. Without any second of deliberation, he sprinted towards the cabin. His boots rested alone on the ground as his bare feet broke the snow. They were probably numb enough he didn't even notice his boots weren't on.

A couple minutes passed by before Sokka rose from his spot. It was nice to do this with someone else. According to tradition, a young boy would have to out last a man to become an adult themself. When Sokka had first returned to the Tribe, all of the young boys would challenge him, hoping his life away from the Tribe had made him soft, and they would be able to brag about defeating him. Unfortunately Sokka outlasted all of them, and soon no one would challenge him. There was no point to challenge someone who would always beat you, especially if the task was such a painful one. Sokka was probably one of the few people who would do the task for practice, which was especially peculiar when he was younger. The only other people to do it were master waterbenders, who were trying to understand the cold. And even then most of them would do it more cautiously.

When Sokka entered the cabin, Metis was lying in the bed, under every piece of fir and cloth he could find. "You lasted longer than most boys do, you should be proud." Sokka said getting dressed, he had only walked over with a small amount of cloth wrapped around his body. "Next time you better last twice as long."

Metis sneezed uncomfortably. "Yeah right, if you ever get me to do that shit again it'll be quite the feat. I don't really see what I was supposed to get from that other than pain."

"You'll see, you'll see" Sokka smiled. He had to admit he was a little sceptical. This was his first time as the master of someone, and he didn't know whether the techniques that worked for him were going to work for Metis. Maybe it was a special case that he was able to do this, and there may be a better way for Metis that was less dangerous.

"Sir, that story you told before, it was nice. What is it like, for your sister to be married to the Fire Lord?" Metis asked covering his head with the coverings.

Sokka looked up at the painting over his desk. Zuko and Katara held each other in their arms, with smiles on their faces. It was nice to have a constant reminder of what they looked like, so that he wouldn't forget. "It was weird I have to admit. Especially considering the circumstance, it was a little sad as well."

"What do you mean by that?" Metis asked, his face escaping from the covers, brought out by the obvious curiosity. Sokka would often tell of certain great feats he accomplished, like his victories in war, or his assent to head advisor to the Fire Lord when he was only 22. He rarely discussed very personal things though, like this moment.

There was slight hesitation in Sokka for a moment. Maybe he was about to tell too much to Metis. Metis was dependable, but was not perfect, there was still risks involved in telling him these stories. "Well, Katara and Aang had been lovers. Like, more in love than you could believe, more so than any other two people I have ever met."

"What? Really? I've never heard that before. Wasn't Zuko and Katara lovers while Aang was alive? Isn't that what those books Katara wrote say?" Metis asked. He sat upright now, as if he was anxiously wondering what the truth was. He felt special, like he was being let in on info few people knew about, and tried not to have other people know. Which was accurate.

Sokka bit his tongue a little, he hadn't read the four books on Aang. Katara had started to write them while he was planning the Earth Kingdom War. He went to exile before they had went public. "It's true, now let me finish or I'll stop" Might as well continue anyway, Sokka thought. "They were lovers beforehand, a little bit. But they stopped their relationship at the end of the third book, Earth right?" Metis nodded his head. "Right, cause Zuko betrayed us, but that's another story.

"Yeah, and after Aang died, Katara became sad, really sad. Zuko was too, but not nearly as bad. I don't think she really ever loved anyone since Aang. She married Zuko cause she liked his company, I think at least. It was what it seemed like the last time I saw them."

"Do you think there's any truth in the rumors of her lovers?" Metis asked, with an innocent face.

Sokka swore under his breath a little. He did know the answer to a certain extent, Atanar had confessed to him. But he did not want to admit to it. "My sister is an honourable person, but," Sokka tried to think of a way to deny it but couldn't. "well fuck it, probably, they're probably true. Or some at least. Zuko probably accepts it though, he loves her, even if she doesn't him."

"That sounds kind of sad."

"We're all sad Metis. We all are."

-

-

-

Author's Notes-

Don't be afraid to review!

There were no reviews for chapter 4 (just like chapter 2), I think you guys can do better than that.

Reviews are always appreciated and I will answer any questions you ask in them.

Story Notes-

The story is a continuation, but also a retelling of the Avatar story. A general rule of thumb while reading would be to assume nothing's the same. Only the details of what I give are important and what happened. Everything else from the show may have happened, but there is no guarantee.

I apologize if I confuse people when referring to the three different groups of soldiers in this chapter. To be clear there are four - The group with Sokka (Soldiers of the World), Bender Corps, Earth Kingdom Main Army, and the Lotus' main army.

I would also just want to make it clear, there are three members of the White Lotus who are also Lords in the Fire Nation. One of them is Jeong Jeong, and all three of them with their armies came to the Earth Kingdom and fought with the rest of the White Lotus. But, Zuko himself took a neutral stance. They are acting independently of each other. If there are other questions about that ask and I'll clear them up.

The characters of Ashitan and Atanar are both characters I created. I will try not to use many original characters, but in certain circumstances I believe new characters must be made for the story to make sense. Mostly characters with political positions will be created, for there are few in the show. Atanar was created specifically for the need of a water bender, if anyone remembers a young talented water bender from the show, I may instead use them.

I do not edit my work very much. I only write for fun when I'm bored, and am not very interested in trying to find every small mistake. That is why there are some pretty obvious spelling mistakes and things. If someone would like to be a proof reader, feel free to ask. Otherwise you're just going to have to live with it.

If you have any questions, I will address them in the next Author's Notes.

Feel free to Review!


	6. Kingslayer

Author's Notes:

Reviews- I'd just like to thank Miroku kensei and I-love-random-internet-stories for their kind words.

I-love-random-internet-stories, in response to your critique, I absolutely agree with what you're saying. The text bookishness of the story is the worse part of it, and you'll see in this chapter it's slightly on purpose. I slightly regret my decision and I feel like like I should have done something different. I'll discuss this more in the next chapter's Story Notes as I'll go in depth on certain things about the story.

Anyways, enjoy the second last chapter!

Chapter 6- Kingslayer

While Sokka stayed in Ba Singe Se after the siege it was a strange time. The war was over, and the White Lotus were victorious. Fung ruled over the country, but in reality it was more by council. The people wanted Kuei to become king once more, but Fung, the White Lotus, and many of the aristocrats were hesitant for this. They decided they were going to create a new constitution before they put Kuei back on the throne.

Initially Sokka was often called to help in the deliberations. He had been taught by Iroh and was once the head advisor to the Fire Lord. His credentials were in check even if he was only in his mid twenties. But in truth he did not understand how Earth Kingdom politics were played. He often found himself by himself on the side without much to give to the discussions.

A divide started to grow between the groups who were in the talks. They all agreed there should be stronger decentralisation of the government, but there were in disagreeance on what to do next. Sokka knew what had happened when the Fire Nation had blindly given power to certain important men, which just ended up creating Ashitan, a man as bad as Ozai. There needed to be some way to make sure this could not happen. Fung, who had been put into exile for these ideas, suggested they have these 'Lord' like individuals, but they would be elected by there people. Then, there would be direct accountability. The aristocrats did not like this much, for it meant less power in their hands.

Sokka eventually started to get frustrated, and when Teo suggest he come and live in the Northern Air Temple he agreed imediately. Once he arrived there he did little work, and spent most of his time exploring the temple or sleeping out in the sun. He did not escape completely from the politics, and wrote what would later been known as the 'Sky Letters'. They were co-written by Teo, and would be dropped en masse onto Ba Singe Se from the Temple's air ship. The letters advocated a stronger Fung's democratic ideas, and swayed the populous towards these ideas as well. Soon there were hundreds of people permanently sleeping outside of the palace to try and convince Fung and the rest who were writing the constitution to decide on this form of government.

This did not go on for too long, when Sokka received a letter signed by many important people in the Kingdom, as well as the Kuei, to stop trying to affect the population like that. Sokka decided to listen, and smoked his pipe with Teo under the moon's rays for weeks, just relaxing.

Six months after the fall of Ba Singe Se the group had decided on a new governmental system. It was going to be a constitutional monarchy. Each part of the Kingdom were going to elect a senator to represent them in Ba Singe Se. In Ba Singe Se the senate would choose legislation and laws to affect the entire country. Kuei would be given his crown, and would act as the head of State. He would not be allowed to create legislation or laws, but would have veto power over them, and be allowed to act as council.

Each of the regions in Ba Singe Se would be able to choose how they would elect their senator. The old City States would be given a senate seat, but would lose their sovereignty. Unfortunately it was not given to them as an offer not to. The Northern Air temple was given a chair, and unlike all of the other regions, chose that everyone should have the right to vote. They quickly mobilised, and Teo beat out his father, to become the Air Temple's first Senator.

Soon after the vote Sokka and Teo travelled back to the city. Once all of the senators were elected, then Fung would give up his position and the Kuei would become the king once more. In Ba Singe Se there was a great party, the streets were filled with people cheering. Almost everyone was satisfied by the results of the process, for not only did the elections happen but the king was also coming back into power.

Sokka was received as a national hero, people cheered him wherever he went. Officially he stayed in Teo's company, and slept on a small bed in the house Teo was given as a senator. Toph returned to the city, but stayed in Haru's company instead.

The first order of business the senate passed, was giving Sokka official citizenship to the kingdom. He gladly accepted it to cheers around him.

When Kuei became king once more, his first order of business was created a new Royal Guard. The point was to create a small group whose purpose was exclusively the safety of the king. King Kuei appointed ten people to the position. Haru was one of the people on the list, for his bravery in the siege of Ba Singe Se, and the large force he was able to amass to help the cause.

That night Teo, Sokka, Toph and Haru drank in private quarters till the sun came up.

The next morning Sokka had a meeting with as many of the White Lotus as he could amass. He officially gave Haru a position in the White Lotus, to also thank him for his the siege, but also so they could have some direct influence on the king. The Mechanist, Haru, Toph, the newly elected Senator City, Fung, Dorm the wanderer and Sokka discussed the next step.

Afterwards Sokka officially sent out summons for Atanar and Chit Sang, they were going to be needed.

-

"Metis," Sokka spoke calling out from the cabin. The light danced around the ground, reflecting off of all that was white. Few clouds painted the sky and great blue radiated the ceiling of the sky.

Metis was a couple hundred metres away from the camp cutting down an old tree. Even though the day was bright and clear, Metis wore tight furs all around his body. On his face were thick goggles to counter the glare. A long clothe wrapped all around his head covering as much skin as he could make it. It was bright out, but it was still cold down to the bone. The dark season was coming soon, and the air was starting to reflect it, not matter how sunny it was.

When Metis heard Sokka's call, he stopped what he was doing. Just to make sure he was not creating voices in his loneliness he stared towards the cabin and saw Sokka wave to him. He rested the axe on his shoulder and started to walk slowly towards the hut. The tree could wait untill he saw what Sokka wished to discuss.

In contrast to Metis, Sokka wore little, and nothing at all on his face. His hands were bare, and his boots were only lightly tied, the furs falling off slowly. Metis had been outside for a long time, so it was intelligent for him to wear as much as he could, while Sokka had only stepped outside for a minute. Sokka's face was stoic, if the cold was affecting he surely was not showing it.

"What is it master?" Metis asked, slowly peeling the cloth off of his face. The cloth had small bits of frost in it from his frozen breathe. It made it shimmer ever so slightly in the light. He had been sweating, and it had caused it too chill him, but instead of removing it, he decided to keep it on himself anyway.

Sokka motioned for him to enter the hut, but Metis shook his head. If he was going to go in there he would over heat, but he couldn't remove his furs, or he would lose his body heat. It was smarter for him to stay outside. Sokka shrugged to this decline and talked "the dark season's coming soon. It gets cold then, beyond belief, it's night continually for two months."

Metis nodded his head, he knew what the dark season was. He could have told Sokka this but did not want to interrupt him. It wasn't proper for a student to talk back to his master anyway. Sokka continued: "I had planned enough food to last me until the end of it, but not enough for two people. We're going to have to go to the Tribe and pick up some supplies. It's a long trip, so prepare lots of furs. I want the canoe to be ready as soon as possible. Tell me when it's ready."

Without asking any questions Metis started to walk towards the canoe. Sokka smiled slightly and returned back into the cabin to continue his work. He was starting to enjoy having an apprentice to do all of the tasks he disliked.

-

When Atanar and Chit Sang arrived in Ba Singe Se, Sokka and Toph started to have private meetings with them for days. They would convene in Haru's house in his basement. A single armed guard stood watch to make sure no one entered who was not supposed to.

After a few weeks, the four of them started on their famous journey around the world.

First they travelled north to the Northern Air Temple, and rested with the Mechanist. Since Teo had become a senator in Ba Singe Se, the Mechanist found himself alone, and was happy to have the company. They would explore the different caverns and archives. It was warm then, the sun stood on top of the temple and bathed them all in its heat.

From there they travelled to the Swamp Tribe. Hidden in such a remote area they had to travel by foot through dense foliage.

Once there they met up with Huu, Tho and Due. Atanar was fascinated by their different ways to bend. He started to train under them, and like all other times, he learned quickly. When Huu found out they were travelling around the world, he suggested the eat Kwun leaf. It was supposed to take the person who ate it to the spirit realm.

Sokka who had been quiet, had not mentioned that was the main reason he had come to visit. The four of them took two leaves each, which should have been enough. It tasted bitter, and acidic. Sokka felt it attack his insides, and started to cough violently. Soon he was laying on the ground, incapable of moving. He did not know where the other three were, but that wasn't what he was thinking about. Great colours were all that danced in front of this eyes, great columns of light grew from the ground and encompassed everything. He saw time as a singularity, as a beast moving, and attacking him. Even with such things happening around him, nothing felt more real to him than their existence.

But he did not go to the spirit realm.

When he recovered, the other three were still hallucinating. Toph had rolled up into a ball, her mouth was quivering. Chit Sang was fighting a tree, Sokka was afraid he would start to fire bend, which could be very dangerous since they were in a forest. Atanar just sat on a log, his legs were bent, and his face determined. Toph started to shiver, he arms vibrating ever so slightly.

Sokka walked over to Toph and put his arm around her. Soon her shaking started to subside. It was a couple of minutes before she came back to reality. When she seemed to figure out where she was, she stayed in her position in Sokka's arms.

They all convened, but none of them had experienced anything like reaching the spirit realm. Sokka asked Huu for more of the leaf, and Huu obliged him with over twenty of it. He was going to try it a couple more times to see what results he could achieve.

After the experience Sokka saw a slight change in Toph's face and manner. She started to smile more, without apprehension or slightly anguish on her face. Ever since the first Revolution Toph had presented a depressed manner. But now she was laughing just like she did back when she they first met. Her endless confidence had seemed to return to her. The limbs were raised and confident, and without anything hanging off of them, like fear or regret.

Sokka asked her about why she felt different. She simply described to him, how when she had taken the Kwun leaf: she saw. Or at least she thought she did, and she saw Sokka's face, for the first time. She had taken the leaf hoping to talk to Aang in the spirit realm, but ended up gaining so much more. The little devious smile painted on her face was happy for once.

That was the moment, Sokka thought, that Toph finally buried the skeletons in her closet, and was willing to move forward. She had distracted herself by excessive work, but never dealt with the issues in her mind. Her strive to become a GrandMaster, or to free the Earth Kingdom, were not fixes to her neurologies, but rather delayers.

It was also that night, that the two of them decided to try their relationship again. Not like how they did on Katara and Zuko's wedding night, but how people should. No longer the movements between their bodies would be caused by despair, but by genuine enjoyment with each other's company and body. The seven years ago, when they first had sex, when Toph was only fifteen, seemed like an eternety ago, but also as if it were only yesterday.

Once they left the Swamp Tribe, they started to move around the Earth Kingdom randomly. They would stay at plush hotels, who would generally give them their room for free. Crowds would beg Sokka to talk to them, and describe to them, not only of his historic feats, but also of what he planned to do in the future.

Late at night, he and Toph would eat more Kwun leaf, and have adventures in their room. They would fight off great evil like they used to when they were younger. It was a dream to have such an enemy as Ozai. One who could be hated purely, without resolve. They had since out grown such mentalities and could see the complexities that real life required. But not in their bedrooms, not in their world, they were free to create as they wished.

Soon they travelled north to the Northern Tribe, and were given their own shack. Sokka was slightly surprised by their reactions, for the people were happy to see him, but none of the important individuals seemed pleased to see him. Sokka guessed that it was because of his decision to turn down the role of Chieftan. He had almost completely forgotten that had happened, he was too drunk that night to have made an informed decision. It was the right decision in the end though, or at least that was what he believed at that time.

Atanar showed them the interesting parts of the Tribe, giving them opportunities to explore the old iceburg outposts that had been carved into great towers decades before. Soon into the trip Atanar was asked to give certain lessons on Water Bending to the children of the tribe. He accepted it immediately and showed them the different tricks Katara had taught him in their private lessons. Sokka stood and watched from a hill, remembering when Aang and Katara had been trained in the same spot. It brought tears to his eyes, but he was happy to be able to remember those happy moments.

That night he challenged Atanar to coming of age ritual of the southern tribe. They sat there, naked on the ice, the moon light radiated down upon them.

They left the next morning and travelled to the Fire Nation. Zuko welcomed them with open airs, and added regret they had not had a chance to talk since the time Sokka had come to ask for more troops. They stayed a few weeks in the Second royal house, where Sokka and Toph stayed the old room the two of them had shared for the year they were first together.

Zuko seemed like a slightly different person, he had broad shoulders and walked with confidence. No longer was this the second guessing klutz who could not succeed anything he tried. It was refreshing, but Sokka felt sad as if he could see his friend slowly disappearing. One of the first things Zuko did when they visited, was to ask Chit Sang if he wanted a position as a Fire Bending trainer in one of the poorer towns that had been hit hard by Ashitan's rebellion all those years ago. Apparently Zuko thought it would build confidence there in the royal family if they had hope to learn Fire Bending, and he was ready to pay Chit Sang well for his deeds. Chit Sang smiled, and said he would accept the offer once the four of them had finished their journey. Surprisingly Zuko accepted this and told Chit Sang that he was waiting for his return.

In almost a completely different way, Katara had also changed. She seemed more like herself after Aang had died. She was spending all of her time locked in her room in the palace. Sokka spent long periods of time with her in the room, trying to see if she would come with them to the Western Air Temple, where they were planning on visiting next. She refused, claiming she needed to focus on working on her books on Aang.

Sokka felt bad for her, she was not the strong independent sister he was used to. It did at least make him happy to hear she still often would travel to one of the Fire Lord's vacation homes to train young water benders. At the same time, he wondered about the harsh rumors that surrounded those events, and felt sorry for Zuko who never let it affect him. Or at least did not let it show that it affected.

When they came to the Western Air Temple, it struck Sokka strongly. He came upon the weeping pillar, that still lay as it did, all those many years ago. It struck him how he was visiting this place without any of the gang from back then. Ty Lee came back to his mind, and how the two of them had fucked each other even though Sokka deep down hated her for killing Suki. But that wasn't totally true, she still had a special place for her in his heart, all of the four women in his life had their own special part of it. Toph had the largest, for she was the only one still there.

Afterwards they travelled around the country side, and visited most of the famous landmarks of the Fire Nation. They visited Delia, the city that had been Lord Ashitan's safe haven. First hand they observed just what exactly the war against Ashitan had done to the people. Poverty was throughout it, large houses were now filled with violent squatters and crying children. Sokka felt bad, as he remembered his mission of destroying ports, and how by doing so he had caused much of the poverty. The ports of those towns had been their only source of income, without it they needed to move to the city to try and find factory jobs, but there were none in Delia. It was a sad city, and death hung over its head at all times.

Next the four of them returned to the Earth Kingdom, and they started to visit the old city states. It was amazing to see how they each had such different culture from the main Earth Kingdom hegemony.

They visited Omashu, and witnessed Bumi's grave that had been built at the top of the town. The grave was a statue of Bumi smiling from ear to ear, for that was how he wished his people would remember him. Sokka had always felt bad that he and Bumi did not have many opportunities to work together. It seemed whenever they were close to an opportunity, something else got into the way. Sokka left a white lotus next to Bumi's left foot. It did nothing for Bumi now, but it was symbolic to show that the White Lotus recognised he died in their service.

It wasn't long afterwards when they visited the Eastern Air Temple. Sokka found it was strange that he did not have Aang to guide him. All of the other three temples, Aang had been there when Sokka had first arrived. A direct consequence of this was the length of time they ended up spending in the temple. Instead of a couple of days, it turned into a couple of weeks as they tried to figure out the confusing temple, and all the secrets hidden between its walls.

Since they were delayed for such a period of time at the temple, they found themselves behind schedule. After the Eastern Air Temple, they were planning on traveling to the Southern Tribe, and the Southern Air Temple. It had been a whole year after they had left Ba Singe Se, and Toph wished to return to her work. She could become Grandmaster in only a couple of months, and she was anxious to get back to it. Chit Sang too felt he needed to return to the Fire Nation for the job Zuko had offered him. He feared if he delayed any longer Zuko would give it to another man.

Sokka understood their concerns, and created a compromise. He and Atanar would continue the voyage to the Southern Tribe and Southern Air Temple. Chit Sang and Toph could leave to return to their lives, for it was important for them to accomplish as much as they could.

Atanar left for the Southern Tribe right away, but Sokka hung back. He would return to Ba Singe Se with Toph before taking a ship from there down to the Tribe. Atanar gave his fairwells and took off to the nearest port to hire a ship. Sokka, Toph and Chit Sang started the treck to Ba Singe Se.

When they arrived Sokka again went into the company of Teo. Chit Sang left almost immediately on the first ship that was headed to the Fire Nation. Toph stayed for a few days, she and Sokka rarely left the bed they shared, but the knew soon they were to part ways. They had spent so much of the last couple of years apart from each other, they did not wish to miss any time they had. The year together was pleasant, and nice, and wonderful. It was best year Sokka had enjoyed since Aang's death, it was sweet in his mind, and stuck to it as if it were honey.

But eventually Toph left Ba Singe Se to train under a Grandmaster and once more Sokka was alone.

He lied on his bed, trying to decide when to leave for the Southern Tribe. It had been such a long time since he had been there, yet he was comfortable where he was for a couple more days.

One morning surprisingly he received a summons from King Kuei. He left his bed and headed for the palace. Once he arrived, he was invited to a private audience with King Kuei, Senator and White Lotus member City, and a handful of the royal guard.

The doors slowly closed behind him.

-

Sokka and Metis were tightly fit in the canoe. Both of them were wrapped in enough furs to inhibit their ability to move effectively. Their arms were free, but were constrained by the weight on their shoulders. The bottom of the canoe was lined with furs to try and keep the floor of it dropping to too low of a temporature. In such a canoe, the two of them had tied themselves to the chairs they sat upon, to try and counter instability. During the weeks before the dark months, the waves are strong, and ice flows are prevelant throughout the water. Which creates many opportunities for the boat to tip over. In the same way, splashes were dangerous. The furs their wore had the intention of guarding them from splashing water, which if it persistently touched a person, it could bring their body temperature down to fatal levels.

Such a voyage was not safe, and it was never safe, even in the warm weather. Which was probably what stirred Metis to ask "Master, why do you live in such exile from the Tribe? You're the heir to the chief aren't you?" The boat rocked slightly, which seemed to make Metis uncomfortable. "Why make yourself do such a dangerous trip each time?"

Sokka smiled slightly, but Metis would not have seen it, for Metis sat in the front and was thus looking forward trying to make sure they did not hit ice. "I have my reasons. I don't get very many visitors, that's probably one of the main reasons. And, well, when I returned to the Southern Tribe, I felt like an outsider. More than I had felt in either the Nation or the Kingdom. So I decided I might as well actually be alone, as to escape distractions."

"Well, as someone who almost died trying to find you, I officially complain about your choice of dwelling. And why do you think you were so alone in the Tribe, did they not accept you back?" Metis asked. His eyes were sharp and focused on the maze of ice flows that floated in front of him. If they came too close to one, he would need to shout to Sokka so they would miss it.

Sokka was admittedly relaxing, and not paying the attention he should have on steering the boat. But as long as Metis paid attention, then they would be fine. "It's not that, they were more than accepting, but I think it was more blind admiration than a real respect. I was a legend, and I had returned home, everyone wanted me to bless their house, and things such as that. Plus I guess I lacked familiar faces. Most people living in the Southern Tribe migrated their after the Melting of the North Tribe."

The sun had started its decline towards the horizon. They both knew they would be in trouble if the sun went down while they were on the water. Metis had done it before though, so maybe they would be able to do it. "Was there really no one? I find that hard to believe."

"Well, I mean I never really knew my father, he fought in the war most of my life. And Katara had always been my best friend when I was younger. My good friend Atanar lives there now, he's the waterbending instructor there. I travelled around the world with him, and Grandmaster Toph, those were good times." Sokka started to become nostalgic and turned his head upwards.

"Ice to the left!" Metis yelled. Sokka was brought back to reality within a second and was started to alter their path. Once their obstacle was overcome, Metis asked "If you don't mind me asking Sokka, what is your relationship with Grandmaster Toph?"

Sokka frowned and started to try an focus on the task at hand. If there was something he did not like to dwell on, it was Toph. "Just another individual I used to know, I have not seen her in three years, since I left the Kingdom."

"I doubt she is only another individual. I noticed how you reacted when I mentioned her daughter. Suki is your child is she not? She's the right age, and does not have a father." Metis asked, purposely not turning around so that he could avoid Sokka's stare.

Sokka had to admit it was a good time to ask this, they were trapped on the boat and Sokka could not just walk away, but that did not mean he was going to tell Metis the truth. "She is only what I have said she is, there is no reason to come up with absurd ideas. Always have better evidence than the person's face if you're going to accuse someone of lying Metis. Less chance you'll be stung that way."

"I can see why you're trying to protect her. I mean, when I first came to Songshan mountain to train under her, I was one of the few. Most people did not want their children to be taught by someone who was associated with you. But she lives, and you live, why does she not come to see you? Why do you both suffer this seclusion of your minds? Whenever I talked to her, she never let me into her head, nor do you master. I don't understand you." Metis said, as his voice slowly decreased in volume.

Sokka's face grew stoic, even though Metis could not see it. "There is more than you know going on, let us leave it at that. We should focus on the water."

The rest of thier trip was in silence. The sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon, and soon they were covered in pitch black. Their pace slowed down to a crawl, as they tried to make sure they did not hit anything or flip into the water.

Soon in the distance bright lights could be seen dancing. They were a homogeneous substance and stood out in the empty black. Sounds radiated from the area, loud notes travelled slowly in the air, gently massaging their ears. Means were eaten communally whenever the men returned from fishing, often these trips could last over a week. They generally led to festivities and joyous songs.

When their canoe came close to the shore, there were two visible figures silhouetted on the shore. The stood next to each other, their eyes fixated on the boat. They had probably been discussing something, but were surprised to see a boat with such a small lantern approach slowly. It was an uncommon sight.

Sokka stood up from his seat and hand gestured that they would need guiding to land. They were unsure where the best place on the shore to go to bring up their canoe was. On of the figures yelled out "Why master Sokka, are you asking for 'elp from me? My my, it's quite the dark day for it to 'ave come to t'is."

"Atanar you bastard!" Sokka yelled. Atanar laughed and he started to bend the water. The canoe was lifted from the water on a great wave, and Sokka who was surprised from this almost fell out. He quickly sat back down on the seat as they flew towards Atanar and his companion. They landed on the ground with a hard thump, but the canoe did not crack. Sokka stood up, walked out of it, and unsheathed his sword. "I swear, if you ever do that again I'll have your balls."

Metis burst into laughter, and himself left the canoe. He walked up to Atanar with his hand extended. "Hi, I am Metis, apprentice to Sokka, it is nice to meet you."

Atanar smiled and shook Metis' hand. "I am Atanar of the Water. I 'ope Sokka of No Sense of 'umor hasn't been too rough on you." He laughed openly, his mouth was wide and accepting. " And my little companion 'ere is Paikea, who's one day going to be the best waterbender this Tribe's ever seen. No offense to master Katara of course." The young girl, who looked around ten years old, next to him blushed lightly and hid behind Atanar's legs.

Sokka smiled a little bit, but he was tired, the trip had taken more energy than he would have like. "Metis and I will retire now, so that we may have the energy we require tomorrow. Do you mind if I use your cabin to sleep tonight?"

"Sure t'ing man, but I only 'ave one bed. I can find somewhere else to spend the night. You not want me to mention your arrival to old 'akoda do you?' Atanar asked.

"No its okay, I'll tell him of it when I wake and am more willing to talk to someone." And with that Sokka and Metis started to walk into the town between the small wood huts.

Sokka dreamed of holding Toph in his arms that night.

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Sokka left the throne room with blood covering his skin. A great lash had blood gushing out of it on his left arm. The guards who had been keeping watch outside stared at him with shock on thier faces. The black sword that was now a clear crimson slipped out of Sokka's hand, and rattled when the blade hit the ground. Disarmed he kneeled down on the ground and hung his head.

The guards regained their strength, and surrounded him. When they were sure he was not a threat, one of them walked into the throne room. Inside the bodies of City and the Royal Guards laid on the ground, swimming in the pools of their blood. Kuei sat on his throne, a great hole in his chest, his eyes opened and terrified.

Sokka was dragged to the royal prison, where he sat alone. For three days he did not speak a word, no matter what anyone asked him. He was the hero of the last war, why was he being silent? Surely he must have had a good reason for his actions, but his lips were sealed. He just sat in the corner, with his eyes open, never sleeping for even a second.

Small riots started to break out around the city, from both sides of people angry about Kuei, but others angry about the imprisonment of Sokka.

On the night of the third day, Sokka stood up and walked to his door. There he waited, and fifteen minutes later Haru and ten other men arrived outside the cell. They opened the door, and put a large cloak around Sokka, and started to walk swiftly towards the exit.

Sokka was surrounded by all of the men, in a circle around him. Haru held onto him, both arms around his shoulders. He could not see where they were going, but he knew their destination. The stone was cold on the ground and the darkness extended around them.

Finally they arrived at the docks. The men met up with a dozen more, and they stood all around the ships, each keeping watch. Haru led Sokka to a specific Southern Tribe ship where he finally removed his arms from Sokka. There, Haru said he was sorry, it was the first words of the night.

Sokka kept his head down, and told Haru not to be sorry. Sokka was the one who had made him break his creed. He was a member of the Royal Guard, whose sole mission was to protect the King. He had even killed some Royal Guards in the room.

Haru told him it did not matter, he would figure that sort of thing out later. He claimed he may have been a Royal Guard, but that he was also a Soldier of the World. Then he handed Sokka back his sword.

Sokka felt the hilt tenderly, and thanked Haru for all he had done. Then he stepped onto the ship and sailed towards the south.

Most of the men who were known Sokka helpers over the next couple of days were rounded up and had all of their titles removed. Around one hundred men and women who had a connection to the seige of Ba Singe Se, including Haru, were banished from the city. Teo and Mher were stripped of their senator-ship, but Fung kept his, and years later when Teo was re elected there were no challenges to it.

On the ship, Sokka stood on the front staring at the sea in front of him. The Moon hung directly in their path, welcoming him to the south. Sokka was going home, for the first time in ten years.

His long Odyssey was finally over.

-Thus Ends the Story of the Journey of Sokka of Many Nations,

_Excerpts from Travels II_

Written by Metis of No One

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Story Notes-

IMPORTANT- Travels II is NOT the same story as Metis and Sokka, or the individual scenes with dialogue from the past. It is only the part of summation.

The next chapter will be the final chapter where hopefully all answers left hanging in the story will be answered. If you think you know what the big reveal in the next chapter will be, feel free to guess in the reviews, I'm curious to see how obvious it was from this chapter. I'll give one clue- 'White Lotus'.

In the next chapter as well, I am planning on going in depth on the story, talking about the story behind this story, the philosophy of the story, I'll talk about the important themes, what my plans were in writing the story, discuss what many of my own characters are references to and why I named them what I did. SO, if you have any questions you have about the story, mention them in a review, and I will answer them.

Also, I am not sure if I'm going to reveal what happened in the throne room, and make you all have to decide yourself what happened. Unless you want me to say what happens, write if you do in the reviews as well, I'm unsure. Even if a lot of you ask for it, I may still not reveal it though, but I'll see.

So, also, feel free to Review! I like reviews, even ones that are negative, hell, they're the most fun.


	7. The White Lotus

Author's Notes – Thanks to the two reviewers for your kind words, glad you're liking it.

Chapter 7- Truth, and the Avatar

Sokka awoke on a small bed covered in various furs. They weighed heavily on his body, and stretched as far as they could across his surface. Light crept through the cracks of a small curtain on the wall, but otherwise the room was mostly painted in shadow. To his side on the ground was Metis, who had rolled up into a small ball to keep his warmth through the night. They were alone in the room, few things decorated the walls. Atanar was not a man who believed in material objects, only in waterbending and making jokes.

A small debate erupted in Sokka's mind on whether he should leave the safety of the furs. The cold sat out of it, waiting to ambush him when he let his guard down. Generally he viewed it as a challenge, as something to be excited about every wake. Yet this morning, in the safety of the Tribe, where he spent all of those years of his childhood, he did not feel the need to attack the day. The leisure he once enjoyed was a foreign concept to him, even more foreign then all of the different cultures in the world. There was a veracity to the statement Sokka of Many Nations, he was the one man who had allegiances to all of them, and who understood how to live in them. There was a tragic irony that he lived in none.

The door creaked slightly as it started to open. A small hand pushed against the wood planks that were nailed together to create a door. It would have been a lie to call Atanar's cabin well built, but a prodigy of waterbending did not really need to be good at everything. Paikea lightly walked into the room, trying not to disturb either Sokka or Metis. Sokka, who had no reason to mind being disturbed in this fashion said "you can act normal girl, we're awake."

Paikea stared at him and smiled. Her gaze veered downwards on Metis who still did not appear to be free from his dreams. If she was going to question Sokka, she quickly decided it was best not to, and she turned to him and informed him "Atanar is in the hall with Hakoda, they were wondering if you could make them some of your tea to start the morning."

A slight smile crossed Sokka's mouth, if only for a moment. It was nice to know his skills in all capacities were still respected. If only they could have tried Iroh's tea, Sokka would probably have traded most of his honours for a pot of it. "Tell them I will be there momentarily, I just have to prepare myself for such a task."

Wondering if Paikea would call his bluff, Sokka held his breath momentarily, but it seemed that she accepted this response. Quickly she left the hut to return and tell Atanar. Sokka swore slightly under his breath, cursing how this always happened when he returned to the Southern Tribe, and Hakoda would once again berate him for leaving the tribe. He wished he could find some kind of an escape, but the tribe was small, and he stood out.

It was quite pleasant to see Paikea acting as responsibly as she did. Sokka laughed when he remembered how Katara was at that age. She would refuse to listen to authority, and would run away to be alone and dream of the stars. Either that or go and play with penguins. It was quite surreal to think of her, that little ten year old who would cry when Gran Gran refused to let her bring the penguins into the tribe to live in warm huts just like the humans, was now the wife of the Fire Lord.

It never matched what Sokka had in his mind for her, yet there was nothing more natural than living in the Fire Nation with Zuko as Fire Lord back when Sokka was the head advisor. For a while Sokka had actually believed that was what his life was to become. He would continue such activities as he was required by the state, and spend the rest of it spending a the large fortune he would make from the position. Even though he had escaped it, Zuko and Katara still lived that same life. They continued on after Sokka left to do other things. He wondered if Katara ever got used to that kind of life, and whether Zuko ever felt like she loved him back.

Metis stirred from where he laid. Sokka's attention diverted onto him. There was a few seconds before Metis completely returned to the land of the waking, but eventually he was sitting up starring at Sokka. Sokka smiled at him and said "Get ready, we have to go to the hall, we've been asked to attend."

The hall in the Southern Tribe was a large wooden structure larger than anyother building in the tribe. It was designed to keep its warmth for as long as possible. In the center of the building was a room big enough to fit everyone in the tribe sitting in a circular pattern. The middle of the room was filled with a large fire which during the dark months was never to go out. All feasts, and festivals took place in the room, dancers moved their light feet around it.

In the Northern Tribe there were numerous such buildings, that could not hold the entire tribe, but help a decent amount. When Hakoda returned from the war against the Fire Lord, the first project he helped start was the building of the hall. He rarely left it since its construction, so that he would constantly be in a public sphere, talking to the members of the tribes. Sokka always thought the real reason was that whenever Hakoda saw the sea he would be struck with wander-lust, and wish to travel on another adventure. But he had no more wars to fight, and no more adventures to partake. He had to try to accept his role as chieftain, no matter how much he disliked it.

When Sokka and Metis entered the large doors into the great room, Hakoda, Atanar and a couple of men who had returned from fishing, were discussing amongst themselves. In one of the corners a handful of Atanar's students muttered to one another, waiting for their master to be finished with the men. Paikea laughed along with them, her face soft.

The presence of Sokka caused the discussion between the men to finish abruptly. There heads turned to stare at the two visitors. "'ail Sokka of the sleeping in, I t'ought ya weren't ever going to wake up this morning." Atanar joked, but the rest of the men did not appear to be amused at the comment. Their attention was undividedly directed at Sokka.

"Well, if it isn't my prodigal son, come to resupply I see," Hakoda sternly said, without even a bit of a smile on his lips.

Sokka walked up to him, and they both shook hands. "A man needs his supplies to survive the dark months. You wouldn't want your prodigal son to become your dead son." A silence danced between them, the air became thick with disdain from either to the other. "I would like you to meet Metis, my apprentice, but you already know him. Since you were the one to give him my secret location."

Atanar laughed a little and put both of his arms around either of their shoulders. "W'at is all of t'is? Come Sokka, you must make us a pot of your tea. I am tired of only dreaming of it." With those words he led Sokka towards a pot of boiling water on the fire in the middle of the room. There he sat down and started to add certain tea leaves.

"When are you going to return to the tribe Sokka? When are you going to stop this game?" Hakoda called over to him.

"When I am needed," Sokka said quietly under his breath.

They stood in silence for a few more minutes until the tea was finished. Then they sat around in a circle and discussed the upcoming dark months. The fishing had been going well. They were not going to have to do the very dangerous fishing exhibitions during the dark. It was a pleasant season, and luck had been on their side.

When the meal had finished, the men rose to start the work of the day. The fishing ships were not going back out, but the crews needed to do repairs on the wood. The captains rose to oversee the labour, but they did little work themselves. Buildings were worked on by the sailors who did not have anything to do on their ships.

Sokka and Metis slowly walked between the huts. The air was cold on their skin, and sharp, but the tribes' people moved as if it were a normal day. Atanar was receiving a lecture by his students, who were not happy he stopped their training to have tea with the men from the ships. The sun reflected off of the snow into their eyes, the brightness made everything shine. It was quite different from any other place on the planet. Metis was slowly taking everything around him in.

Eventually they stopped at a canoe on the south east side of the tribe. Sokka led Metis into it without saying anything. They quietly paddled, the waves were small now, and less treacherous. The white caps danced and fell on the water, as if to show off to the people around. The Tribe was at tune in the water, not only the benders, Sokka had traveled all around the world but there was something special about the water surrounding the southern tribe. It felt more like home, and less of a beast.

They finally hit ground on a small island not too far from the Tribe. Dotted across the ground were small stones, half buried in the snow. Sokka led as the two of them trudged in the snow. The silence of the place was deafening. When they came closer, Metis saw that the stones were not just rocks laying on the ground, they were epitaphs.

Sokka came to an abrupt stop, Metis who was not paying attention to his maser, nearly tripped over one of Sokka's legs. Sokka knelt on one knee, and brushed the snow off of one of the stones. "This is Gran Gran's grave. She waited for me, for ten whole years to return. But she died four weeks before I came home, her heart broken."

Metis put his arm lightly on Sokka's shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that master, it must have been difficult."

Slowly grabbing Metis' hand, Sokka stood up and turned around. "Kneel before me Metis." Metis stared at him for a moment before complying with the request. "For your bravery and dedication to the search of self betterment, I hereby invite you to join the Order of the White Lotus. What say you?"

"Yes, yes of course, who would ever say no?" Metis responded. A smile erupted across his face from one ear to the next. He stood up and shook Sokka's hand. When they finished shaking, Sokka gave him a White Lotus piece, which Metis stared at intently.

Sokka in turn, did not return Metis' exuberant expression. Instead his face grew somber, and he tried to hide his eyes from Metis' glare. "I am sorry I did that." Metis' stare turned to one of confusion. "Iroh did the same nasty trick to me, the old bastard."

"What do you mean?"

"I have not been completely honest to you Metis, and now there is no backing out. You are honour bound to complete the mission I am going to give you, just as I was a slave to Iroh." Sokka put his arm on Metis' shoulder. He slowly sat down on the snow in front of Gran Gran's grave, and started to caress the letters that spelled out her named. "You asked me before, why I was in exile from the tribe. The real truth is this: I came to the tribe, and saw her there living her life, happily, innocently. It was raining, Kuei's blood was still under my finger nails. I traveled here, to this exact spot, and I laid down and cried. I had wished to see Gran Gran so badly, and it was this shock that really made everything crash upon me. Everything had gone wrong, everything had been so difficult, I was tired, I did not want this anymore. But I made my decision when I joined the White Lotus. Here, in my weakest, I decided she should live some years innocently. I tried to live with the her in the Tribe, but it stayed in the back of my mind, till it was so loud I could not think. So I left into exile, where I could focus, and not ruin her life, if only for a small time."

Metis walked up to Sokka and sat down next to him. "I don't understand master."

"Most people believe the White Lotus is an elite group of soldiers, benders and intellectuals Iroh put together to help him reclaim the throne of the Fire Nation, or at least a group who he put together to help him better the world." Metis nodded slightly, Sokka continued "This is not the real purpose."

"Travels, the book of Iroh's journey, actually starts around chapter ten of the real journal that's back at my hut. When Iroh started the journal he was a young man, traveling the world in secrecy to understand the Fire Nation's enemy. It was then that he met King Bumi. Over drinks the two of them discussed how King Bumi was one of the few living people alive who knew the avatar. They talked about how they needed to find the next avatar to make sure what happened to Aang would not happen again. It was then that the White Lotus was created."

"Iroh spent the next couple of years secretly amassing a small group of men who would be able to train the avatar in bending, fighting and the mind. Throughout this time they searched for the avatar, Iroh describes traveling for weeks in the dense jungle in the Earth Kingdom, for they were the few people with little contact with the outside world, it was one of the few places the avatar may be."

"But they did not find the avatar, they searched for ten years but came up empty handed. Iroh called off the search and rededicated himself to the war. For twenty years Iroh fought those battles, but after the death of his son at Ba Singe Se, he became bitter. When Zuko was put into exile, Iroh was more than willing to join him, for Iroh was in exile mentally."

"When the two of the them initially found Aang, Iroh was angry. Had Aang had died instead of freezing himself, then a new avatar would have come, and the Lotus would have found him. Aang was then to blame for all of Iroh's suffering the years he had dedicated to finding the avatar, and the war he continued when it proved to have been all in vain."

"But eventually Iroh came to his senses, and he started to call all on the members of the White Lotus. They decided the best they could do was to help Aang defeat Ozai, and so they did the first White Lotus Revolution."

"The real purpose of the Order of the White Lotus, is to find, train and protect the avatar so that he or she can do the good they can in the world."

Metis looked as if he was trying to sort all of this in his mind. "But wait, what does that mean?"

"The young girl you met at the Tribe, Paikea, she is the avatar."

"That's," Metis struggled to find words to describe how he was feeling. "That's," again the words escaped him.

"It took us a while to figure out who it was, but Atanar was sure the first time he saw her. We knew the next avatar needed to be a water bender, but we were unsure who it was. So I had Atanar, Toph and the firebender Chit Sang journey with me across the world to not only find the avatar, but also try to understand as much as we could. We traveled to the swamp and Northern Tribe, to see if we could find which kid was the unlucky one. When those two places turned up with no one, Atanar voyaged here, and he found Paikea. And there's no questioning it, she's the one."

Metis seemed to be still trying to sort out his thoughts, but he was able to ask "what's my place in this?"

"Well, you're going to take my place. It is no accident Toph sent you to be trained under me. She thought you were the only person she knew who could do the impossible task you're going to have to perform. When she is ready, you will smuggle her across the world to be trained by Toph, and then Chit Sang in the other bending arts. No one must know who she is, until she's ready. She will not be used to further someone's political career, never."

"What about air bending?"

"That's where we hit a problem, but we will deal with it at the time. When we went on our journey to find the avatar, we also visited all of the Air Temples to try and find any documents on Air Bending. I have been studying them since then, but just as I'm useless at the other bending, I'm useless at Air Bending. But hopefully I will have understood enough of those documents to guide her hand. You will return to the Southern Air Temple, and together we will try to figure it out, somehow."

Metis stood up and threw his hands in the air. "This is crazy! There is no way I can smuggle the avatar without people knowing about it. We're going to get killed."

"There is a reason I'm training you, you will be prepared to survive. You also know your way from here to Toph's dojo, that's better than some training. But, yes it will be dangerous, very dangerous, people will try to kill you to get to Paikea. She is a tool in many people's eyes, a tool they wish to use. I would be doing this instead of you, but I can not return to the Earth Kingdom, after what I did. Anymore people though, and people will take notice. Dorm the Wanderer, who is also White Lotus, will shadow you, but he can not be right behind you at all times. You must be prepared, and I think you can do it."

"How long will this take? How much do you think I must suffer for this insane plan?" Metis yelled at Sokka.

"You will suffer much. If we are lucky it will take less than ten years. In ten years she will have mastered all of bending. Staying with Toph and Chit Sang will not be tough, but traveling between them will be the difficult part. When you return to me in the Southern Tribe, it will be a hard life, but we can live it. Let us hope we can figure out how to teach her air bending before that.

"Ten years! Aang learned them all in two years!" Metis exclaimed.

"Aang didn't master any of them, he just learned how to do them well enough. He also had already mastered Air Bending, Paikea still has two or three years before she masters waterbending, you will spend that time training with me. Do not act like as if you are the only one who is suffering! I have been doing this my whole life, it's tough but you will succeed, and the world will be a better place."

"What about my home? What about my family?" Metis asked.

"My mistake, was being Sokka of Many Nations, the man who had allegiances to all states. Instead, from this point on, you are Metis of No One, of no state, nation, people or home. You're life is the success of this mission."

"But! But! Dammit!" Metis fell to his knees. The snow cushioned his legs, but burned them with the cold. His eyes started to water.

Sokka stood up from his place and walked to Metis' side. "I know the feeling, what it's like to have your future torn away. I have never held my own daughter, and I can't until Paikea is safe. If Toph visits me, or if I go to her, it's too risky, someone might figure it out, or one of us may be arrested. Paikea must travel to the Earth Kingdom to understand the place, and she must master earth bending under Toph, Haru would fail, everyone else would fail. And she must do it without anyone understanding the significance. You will be her eternal guardian, you will always be right behind her, to see where she can not."

Sokka walked to Gran Gran's grave and kissed the rock. "The world is my nation, and humans are my people. The future of humans are my life. I never forget that, for without it, I would never have been able to do what I've had to. Stand tall Metis."

Metis stood from his place and wiped his eyes. His face was red, and with determination in his eyes, he said "Lets make the world a better place."

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-Afterward of Travels II-

The journey of my master, Sokka, was one of many hardships, and one he did not wish to be told. What I have written is an accumulation of numerous stories told over spending years with him in exile. I spent three years with him, before leaving on my journey with Paikea to the Earth Kingdom. There on Songsan Mountain I wrote the initial draft of this story. Years later in the Southern Air Temple, living with only Sokka and Paikea, I showed it to Sokka. He told me he did not like the focus on his great feats, instead he asked me to change it to a love story between Toph and himself, I obliged. We spent another two years in that temple, sleeping on the cold stone. I finished the book in between training. At the end, when Paikea had mastered Airbending, despite our initial skepticism, Sokka made me Grand Lotus of the White Lotus. He was tired, and I had proved my worth, over the years of fighting and watching over Paikea.

He left the south, and traveled to the Capital of the Fire Nation, the first time he had left the Southern Tribe since leaving the Earth Kingdom, twelve years before. Sokka moved into the second Royal House, and was finally reunited with Grandmaster Toph, the woman he loved, but hadn't seen in a decade. They live there happily at the moment, away from the odyssey that lasted their whole lives.

It is hard to measure how much Sokka affected the world. But for a man as young as he, few have ever accomplished as much. In the same way, few have suffered as much as well. A man who with only his brain, fought men who could throw boulders and won. A man who loved a girl and won.

-Signed Metis of No One.

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Author's Notes:

Well I hope you have enjoyed my story. I have to admit I am surprised I actually completed it. It's a nice feeling to have, since I've never actually completed a long form story before.

I would greatly appreciate a review of the story, and maybe a mention of what was good or bad. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Now I'm going to do a little bit of an Appendix for the story. If you don't wish to read it, then feel free to skip it. The story is pretty dense, and has a lot of allusions, so I thought I'd explain them a little. I also wanted to describe a little bit about the story and why I chose certain things. I'm going to reveal what happened in the throne room, I decided not to put it in the story and just heavy hinted to what happened in the last chapter. It's the last part of the notes, so feel free to skip to that if you are curious.

-_Timeline_: - Iroh is Born

5 Years Later – Aang is Freezes himself running from the Fire Nation

20 Years Later – Iroh forms the White Lotus with Bumi

30 Years Later – Aang (14) is Found by Sokka (16) and Katara (15), they start their journey

1 Year Later - Toph (14) joins their group

1 Year Later – Ozai is Defeated, Death of Aang (16)

3.5 Years Later- Melting of Northern Tribe, Iroh Killed

1.5 Years Later- White Lotus Rebellion in Earth Kingdom

.75 Years Later- Ba Sing Se falls

.5 Years Later- Earth Republic established

1 Year Later- Sokka kills King Kuei, goes into exile

3 Years Later- Metis (17) visits Sokka

3 Years Later – Metis leaves the South with Paikea

2 Years Later – Metis and Paikea leave the Earth Kingdom to travel to the Fire Nation, Dalia and Chit Sang

3 Years Later – Metis and Paikea come to the Southern Temple to train Air Bending with Sokka

2 Years Later – Paikea finishes training, Metis becomes Grand Lotus, Sokka travels to the Fire Nation to live with Toph.

When Sokka meets Aang, he is 16, when Metis meets him in exile he is 29, he is 40 when he finally returns to the Fire Nation.

-_The Name_: Whatever Point You Will is taken from the beginning of the Odyssey, and simply means the story starts at whatever point I felt like, so part way through and not in a true beginning.

-_Story of the Story_:I first had the idea when reading the Odyssey and watching Avatar Book 3. I had watched numerous shows and alway thought how I would like to do a retelling, but more realistic and serious. When I finished watching the episode with Piandao, I thought that it would be interesting if Sokka was less of a comic relief, and more of an established swordsman who could fight and beat benders. (Keep in mind this was before the final) Then I thought about Ba Singe Se and how at the end of the show they had to deal with the whole world, and not just beating Ozai. So I decided on to write Whatever Point You Will.

I wrote the first version two years ago, but never finished it. It had some large differences with this version. Instead of it taking Sokka eight years to return after the death of Aang, it took him two years. There was only a straight narrative, so no Travels II or the scenes from the past. Metis did not mention who sent him, and when he and Sokka came to the Tribe, it turned out that Metis was an Earth bender assassin sent by a man named City from Ba Singe Se. Sokka, despite having befriended Metis, kills him, and swears to kill City. He travels to the Earth Kingdom where he met up with Haru who was now an alcoholic, and the two of them get in an argument. Haru is angry Sokka abandoned the people who stood by him after Sokka killed Keui. This is as far as the story got. The back story between the two stories are pretty similar except for, in version one, Iroh and the White Lotus play a considerably smaller role.

If you thought this version was angsty, the first was worse. I also had a lot of trouble giving voices to the characters. Despite this I did like the story, and felt bad that I had failed to write it. So I decided I was going to try again, this time with a more focused approach. If I did not have the summary Travels II part, this story would have been a lot longer. Hell I could have written a whole story for each of the chapters as well as the Sokka and Metis part.

-_Themes/Important Parts_: There are a couple of important themes throughout the story. The basic premise of the story starts off with the idea that this world is more realistic. But what exactly does that mean?

The first theme, and probably the most important part of the story, is the idea of imperfection and success. The main characters succeed in almost everything the do in the story, but there is never a victory that did not slightly wrong. Even in the small things such as love, to the big things such as war. They defeat Ozai, but Aang is killed. In the eclipse they are able to escape, but they lose Toph and accidentally kill Azula and Zuko's fiancé Mai. The Melting of the Northern tribe is stopped, but not before most of the Tribe is destroyed. Ashitan is defeated but Iroh is also killed. Zuko gets Katara to marry him, but she is unfaithful and does not love him back. Sokka and Toph end of together, but not before they rip themselves apart a couple of times. The fact about life, is it's hard, and nothing is perfect.

Another important theme is of Political Responsibility. Throughout the show, the gang see political corruption and excess, and they blame the people, but never the system. Politics has to change systematically to stop those sorts of situations from happening again. So the only real way to save the world is to also restructure it. This does not happen perfectly though, Iroh's reforms cause Ashitan's rebellion, and while Fung and Sokka try to change the Earth Kingdom, people don't like change, so there is resistance. But they try, and that is something that is important.

Resourcefulness and anti-messianic thinking is another part. Aang is viewed as this saviour who will save the world throughout the show. People like Sokka just sit in the background and do little, because Aang will do the difficult tasks such as beating Ozai. That's why I killed him, I wanted to push these characters on the side to the front. How do people fix the world without their trump card? Simple: they fight like hell. It can be argued whether this is effectively expressed in the story, for Sokka and Zuko become sorts of saviour characters while the other side characters stayed at the side. But the intention was there to do better.

Relationships, and the universality of them play a role in the story. I wanted to have a instead of a story about one or two relationships, I wanted it to have every single reasonable one. In the same token I wanted to ruin every single one of them too. While Sokka has a relationship with four different girls in this story, (I include Yue, but I'll get into that a little later on) each one fails, and each one hurts the other. Toph's feelings for Aang cause but also deeply hurt her relationship with Sokka. The same sorts of things can be said for Katara/Aang/Zuko/Mai and etcetera.

Finally, the idea of home, and the Second Royal House in the capital of the Fire Nation. In 'Life in the Warm Country' the characters are disconnected from each other mentally, despite being as closer to one another than ever before. Soon they start to realize, that home, is being with each other, and not a geographical place, but it's too late, and they've all moved out of the Second Royal House. So whenever they return to the building, it's about them trying to reconcile their failure to live together. And it's only in the end, fifteen years later, they finally achieve this.

-_Characters_: I am going to talk about Sokka, Yue, Metis, Paikea and a bit on Katara

Sokka: There are many attributes Sokka had in my mind. He is a humanist who views the betterment of all humans as important. But he is also a utilitarian in the sense that all actions have to be weighed on their consequences. People must be willing to do bad things for the proper consequence. He also is a warrior capable to defeating benders, what this amounts to is that he is not only a great fighter, but a quick thinker, and a person with an iron determination. He will get done what has to be done to succeed. This is not supposed to be viewed as perfect, and he does some questionable things. The most notable is when he killed Mai, did he need to do that? Or when he ordered his men to execute all of the injured benders of the Bender Corps. That is a War Crime, and is arguable whether it was the right thing to do, no matter how dangerous the benders were. A hero, but one that is not supposed to be viewed as perfect or always right.

Yue: I wanted to have a completely passive character in the story, and so I created my interpretation of Yue. If you pay attention to the moon light in the story, it plays two different roles. There are moments of silent conversation between her and Sokka, but also moments she watches Sokka, and she cries. I'll leave it at that, the rest is up to you and your interpretation.

Metis: I got the name Metis from the Odyssey, which was the basis for many parts of this story. In the Odyssey, Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is Metis, which apparently meant No One, so when Odysseus attacks the Cyclops, the Cyclops yells out that No One is attacking him. It's a funny part of the book, but I decided I wanted to use it. In the first version of this story, Metis was an assassin, so No One, actually alluded to him being a killer. In this story it is quite different, where he is Metis of No One, or No One of No One. Which I take as meaning his is every person. A completely random individual, not a bender, or a king, he is No One, a human being. I thought it would be interesting to make that kind of a person the hero, who knows if that aspect worked out though.

Paikea: I did actually take the name from Whale Rider, so you were right I-love-random-internet-stories. When you mentioned that, I thought you had figured it our, and maybe you did but didn't mention it. I knew from the beginning that I was not going to tell the story of Paikea and her journey, so I wanted to tell it in her name. She is a leader, just like in Whale Rider, who has to overcome challenges, so that would in sense tell her tale, even though I did not.

Katara: I just kind of wanted to apologize for Katara. She is handled as being weak and fragile, while the men are strong. That's wrong and I should have done something different. I don't mind it for Toph, since she is genuinely screwed up from being sexually abused as a kid, and losing Aang so suddenly after finally meeting him again. Katara only lost Aang, yet I make her as if she could only survive if she had a man, and that's not her, she's strong and independent, I just messed up there. I tried to reconcile this with her cheating on Zuko, and not loving him, but I don't think that is necessarily better, or good enough.

-_What I would have done differently_: I'm just going to mention two things I would have done differently.

Firstly I would have made Travels II written by Sokka. That way it would have been told in the first person and I could have had Sokka talk about things that happened directly. I do not know why I did not do this, as it seems so obvious, and would have been so obviously better.

Secondly I would have given Ty Lee a much larger part. I just kind of got rid of her as soon as I could. I think that was a mistake, and I probably could have done a lot more with her. She still would have died, but probably fighting against the Tyrants. I would also have made her have relationships with both Sokka and Zuko, and Zuko would have been angry at Sokka for her death. She would have been another Mai, another girl Zuko had loved but Sokka had killed.

-_What happened in the Throne Room_: So, why did Sokka kill Kuei? What forced him to do such an act that exiled him to the south, and made it so that he could not see the woman he loved or his daughter for a decade. Well, I didn't want to say in the story, because I wanted it to be ambiguous, but I also think it would be a little cruel not to mention it at all, so here is what I think happened (now since it is not in the story, it is not canon, which means if you want to think something else happened, go right ahead, you are just as right as I am)

After Sokka entered the room, Kuei made him sit. Kuei claimed he was not an idiot, and knew what Sokka had been doing. City (the member of the White Lotus) had told him about the Lotus' plan to find the avatar. Kuei claims he has figured out the White Lotus' plan. They claim to be helping people, but instead they are forwarding their own agenda. They wish to rule the world. They've been systematically taking control of every State. Zuko is good friends with Sokka, Sokka is the heir to the chief of the Southern Tribe, and in the Earth Kingdom, the place where he had no control, he tried to strip the king of his power and establish a system where the people would be in control. People are easily swayed, and by pretending to be their savior Sokka would have much influence over them. Once Sokka found the avatar and trained the avatar to do his bidding, no one would be able to stop him. At that point he would take control of the countries and declare himself the king of the world.

Kuei was not going to let this happen. He was going to momentarily suspend the senate. The White Lotus was now an illegal group and all individuals with connections to it were to be arrested. Sokka was to be arrested, and charged with high treason since he was an honourary citizen of the Kingdom. The penalty for High Treason is death, and the only judge who can give that ruling is the king. Kuei then would send a delegate to the Southern Tribe where City said the avatar probably was, kidnap the avatar and train the avatar to fight for the Kingdom. That way no group like the White Lotus could come to power again and try to remove Kuei from his throne.

Sokka was simply asked if he had anything to say before Kuei sentenced him to death. Sokka just unsheathed his sword and was able to kill the guards around him quickly. Moving toward the throne he grazed his sword on City's neck which erupted with blood flying every where. And finally, before Kuei had time to stand from his chair to run away, Sokka stabbed him right through the heart. Covered in blood Sokka slowly walked out the room.

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Well that's it for the Appendix, I hope you enjoyed the story

Review!


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